The UK has the third largest aviation sector in the world, behind only China and the US. Air transport represents a small share of GDP, but is closely linked to the activities of other sectors, especially airports and aircraft manufacturing – collectively considered here as the “aviation industry”. The aviation industry is a key enabler of many other economic activities and there are a host of roles for contractors should they want to work in the aviation industry. Roles cover all kinds of sectors including R&D, engineering, design, IT, and infrastructure to name but a few. These can be involved in the manufacture and maintenance of the aircraft themselves, or they could be involved in other areas such as airports.
How COVID-19 affected aviation contractors
It is no surprise that the aviation industry was one of the hardest hit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Footfall in airports fell as much as 98% compared to the following year, and many businesses cancelled projects and paused production in order to try and keep themselves afloat, including Airbus reducing production at its sites in the UK and Germany.
Subsequently aviation contractors have had a difficult time with many finding themselves out of work for long periods, with contracts suspended or even terminated entirely.
Post COVID-19 outlook
The world is opening up again, with airlines resuming flights all over the world. With some travel restrictions lifting in the UK on October 4 2021, people are now able to travel into the UK more easily with less testing, most likely resulting in more people booking holidays. This is good news for contractors working in aviation as more roles are likely to open up, however it is unlikely they will get back to pre-pandemic levels at this stage and contractors may find it more difficult to get roles than before the pandemic.
If you are a contractor struggling to find a role in your area within the aviation industry then not all is lost. While aviation is a highly specialised sector, your skills will still be transferable to other industries, where you may be able to find work until aviation is fully back on track.
How the Aviation industry can find contractors
Even aside from the changes that COVID brought in, the aviation industry is very fast moving. As a result, airlines need to be able to adapt quickly in all aspects of business – including the ability to easily procure talent to support rapid market changes.
Engaging external workers and service providers is a key way that airline companies can ensure enterprise agility. From wheelchair pushers to IT professionals, ticket agents to engineers and beyond, utilizing flexible talent helps increase and decrease headcount as needed. But with this workforce comes the need to mitigate risk and control costs.
How TCP (People2.0) can help
Because many airlines are multinational, they must accommodate different business configurations, tax laws, pay modifiers, rate components, currencies and languages where they utilize external workers and service providers. This is where we can help. We enable our customers to expand their value proposition to their clients with capabilities to enroll any candidate, in any work arrangement, anywhere in the world, for any length of time, in full compliance with any regulation. We are the world’s leading enabler of the global, mobile, flexible, and remote workforce.
We can offer
- Specialist permanent and lease staff.
- Work package solutions can be tailor-made to best benefit your company/project requirements.
- Full work package execution or part work package execution, dependant on customer requirements.
- Onsite working / Home office / Virtual office / Locally based office.
- We recommend clients to perform site visits regularly to inspect workflow and quality.
To find our more, please call a member of our sales team on +44 (0)208 5800 800, or send a message via our contact page.
