Demand for skilled engineering and operations crew in the Arabian Gulf has never been stronger. Can supply keep pace?
A spate of new operators and record yields among established airlines has increased the demand for qualified staff in the Gulf. This added competition is expected to drive expectations and employment packages in an upward spiral that will have implications for the industry worldwide.
The demand is not limited to airlines. The burgeoning executive jet sector and industrial aviation - servicing offshore oilrigs - are also actively recruiting.
Salaries may not be the highest in the world, but the Gulf employers - led by Emirates of Dubai - have been exceptionally skillful in creating value in the total packages offered expatriate workers.
Among the recent arrivals is Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways. The national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Etihad is recruiting flightdeck crew in the face of planned network expansion to Europe, the Far East and beyond. Its standard package includes tax-free salary, medical insurance, housing and education allowances and end-of-service benefits.
Similar packages are offered by NetJets Middle East, the Saudi Arabian aviation venture operating a fractional ownership programme in the region, for staff based in Jeddah, and by Gulf Helicopters for employees based in Doha, Qatar.
Elsewhere, long-established carriers Gulf Air and Saudi Arabian Airlines are recruiting cabin crew, engineers and instructors on the back of bumper results. Both reported record passenger numbers in 2004.
Qatar Airways and Emirates have vacancies for technical staff and flightdeck crew, among others, while GAMCO, the Abu Dhabi-based maintenance specialist, is adding technicians to its 1,500-strong workforce.
Despite the security situation in Iraq and an undercurrent of risk to foreigners in Saudi Arabia, other Gulf countries continue to trade on their image of an attractive lifestyle in the sun. Expatriate workers who meet the employment criteria can expect their visa applications to be processed smoothly and swiftly - a far cry from just a few years ago when bureaucracy dogged every step of a tortuous process.
Lifestyle remains a strong card for Gulf employers, and allows them to control costs in a way that other regions find impossible. Rick Helliwell, Emirates manager, recruitment, admits that many of the airline's staff could command higher salaries elsewhere, notably in the USA. But he adds: "The package that we offer staff is very, very generous."
That package includes normal accommodation, healthcare and leave arrangements but also offers corporate profit sharing, merit pay, exchange rate protection, allowances for utilities and telephone costs, interest-free car loans, education support and retirement at 60, not 55, for captains.
Source: Flight International
