After the shock of the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered a wave of layoffs in the aerospace industry, there is now no shortage of job offers among contractors. However, this does not seem sufficient to replenish the school benches in some training centers, which are still struggling to attract recruits.
“Labor is the number one issue, number two and number three for us,” says Hugue Meloche, President and CEO of parts manufacturer Groupe Meloche. It is extremely difficult. ”
A sign that companies are regaining altitude, hundreds of positions are posted on the websites of many players in the cluster such as Bombardier, Airbus Canada, Pratt & Whitney Canada, Héroux-Devtek, CAE and Groupe Meloche. Most of these companies had layoffs at the start of the health crisis.
Engineering, machinery, project planning… Candidates from all walks of life – vocational, technical or university training – are sought after. The problem is that on the one hand, the labor pool is shrinking, while on the other, the next generation is not there.
This is what is a little worrying. We are in recovery. We need at least 30 new people next year. Before accepting a big contract, to invest somewhere, the workforce is the first criterion evaluated. Today, the first instinct is to ask yourself if we are going to have the world to do that.
Hugue Meloche, President and CEO of the parts manufacturer Groupe Meloche
Before the pandemic, it was estimated that 30,000 positions needed to be filled by 2027.
In Longueuil, in the southern suburbs of Montreal, the National School of Aerotechnics (ENA) can accommodate up to 1,300 students for college training. There are about 820 of them. Registrations were down 20% for the fall session.
The director of the establishment, Pascal Désilet, hopes that the open houses that took place last Sunday – in person for the first time in two years – will help reverse this trend. In 2020, the ENA had received 312 applications for admission to the first round.
“We meet companies that have not yet returned to 100%, but who tell us they have a real problem,” says Désilet. Just to replace people who are retiring, some would take up the entire cohort. ”
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE NATIONAL AEROSPACE SCHOOL
The ENA can accommodate up to 1,300 students for college training. There are 820 at present.
He also hopes that the reopening of borders will facilitate the recruitment of candidates from abroad in countries such as France, Morocco and Tunisia. About 100 students come from outside the ENA.
I have at least seven companies that recently called for machining students.
Éric Dionne, Director of the Montreal Aerospace School (EMAM)
There are about 225 students enrolled in training such as machining and assembly of structures in this establishment which has already welcomed more than 1000. EMAM, which was able to welcome candidates on site last Thursday for its open days, hopes the event will help boost registrations.
“It’s very critical in schools now,” acknowledges the President and CEO of Aéro Montréal, Suzanne Benoît. Particularly on the trades side.
Caution
Even the encouraging news comes with a caveat. The CEO of Airbus Canada, Benoît Schultz, gave an example on November 9, when he said that the European giant wanted to hire at least 500 people at Mirabel, where the assembly of the airliner takes place. ‘A220, over the next few years.
“I won’t hide from you that recruiting in our industry is an issue,” he said. Recruitment is one of the important elements in achieving our plan. ”
Airbus has tried to get a head start by forging a $ 200,000 partnership with Polytechnique Montreal and McGill University to offer 10 engineering scholarships annually, 5 at each institution. The multinational does not impose any requirements, but it hopes that this boost will encourage the winners to swell its ranks.
At the end of 2020, the cluster’s workforce stood at 36,100 workers, compared to 43,400 a year earlier. Aéro Montréal does not yet have the most recent count, but Mme Benoît foresees an increase in the workforce.
In the fall of 2020, the organization agreed to work with the construction industry to transfer some employees who had lost their livelihood. The leader of the organization does not know the extent of the displacement. One thing is certain, many are likely to have turned their backs on aeronautics.
“It was not a six-month crisis,” says Mme Benedict. We can say that in aerospace, workers are passionate, but at some point, some move on. ”
The return of these workers casts “a lot of uncertainty” on the size of the labor pool that may be available.
Finally more favorable headlines?
The refrain has been heard more than once: to attract more students, the aviation industry must become better known. Beyond the advertising offensives, the sector could benefit from a change in the general public’s perception.
After years of rather bad news, Bombardier seems to be regaining some altitude. Airbus Canada wants to hire in Mirabel and obtains new orders for the A220 and CAE is increasing its acquisitions.
“It’s the best seller effect,” launches the director of ENA, Pascal Désilet, bluntly. There is the student, but behind, the parent is more aware of the perspectives. Good news generates positive sentiment. ”
The President and CEO of Groupe Meloche, Hugue Meloche, spoke of a better job to be done in the area of marketing and communications.
“We tend to think that aviation is polluting, but every year the industry improves,” he says. There’s a tremendous amount of research and development to be done, but it looks like it’s not known to the general public. ”
Mr. Désilet agrees. The director of the ENA stresses that the field of artificial intelligence has succeeded in making this sector “sexy” even if it is “coding in front of a computer”.
“We have the same challenge,” he admits.
According to the President and CEO of Aéro Montréal, another advertising “offensive” is brewing with “industrial leaders”. This should be deployed in 2022.
Julien Arsenault, Press