Are you one of those who only see pilots and flight attendants as the key positions in aviation? Well, there are many more people who work to keep us in the air. Subhash Motwani explores other career avenues in the aviation industry

The recent unprecedented growth in the Indian aviation industry has resulted in many career opportunities opening up for interested aspirants. The aviation industry needs trained service technicians, traffic assistants, customer service agents, travel clerks and cargo handlers.

To combat the current competition, most airlines require and seek versatile manpower. Today, they prefer an all-rounder, who is equally conversant with passenger as well as cargo handling. New recruits taken on contract basis by airlines, have a higher probability of being absorbed on a permanent basis if they are well versed in both these areas of the airline industry.

As an aviation industry aspirant, you should weigh the pros and cons of the various training programmes that surround you. Most students prefer the more glamourous and high paying jobs like that of the cabin crew or pilot. In both these areas, there are too many people applying for a handful of vacancies, and therefore, there is a higher probability of not even being called for an interview. Recently, when a noted airline advertised for cabin crew vacancies, there were almost 50,000 applicants for 250 vacancies—a ratio of 1: 200.

Becoming a pilot requires investments of almost Rs 10 -15 lakhs, apart from the two or three years for training. Thus, the need of the hour is to capitalise on the current aviation boom rather than getting trained today. Cargo handling is one of the fastest emerging areas of employment. Mumbai and Delhi airports have already seen an exceptional growth rate of 30 per cent in cargo traffic. Hence, the demand for qualified people to handle cargo is very high.

In India, Institutes like IHCTM (Mumbai) and Speedwings (Kochi) offer the basic cargo as well as the international IATA/ FIATA qualification in dangerous goods. Your choice of a career in aviation largely depends upon the demand and supply equation—that is the industry’s demand for qualified staff visà-vis the number of candidates available for employment.

There are very few cargo training centres, which offer international quality training at a price of Rs 25,000-40,000 for a four to six month course. The trick is to get an entry either in cargo handling, courier services or even as a ground staff at the airport before you go opt for higher qualifications and specialisation. Also, many institutes in Mumbai award Airline Management Diploma programmes, which qualify you for cargo and passenger handling in eight months time.

The diploma also equips you with travel and tourism skills, thus making you eligible for a job as a customer service agent or a traffic assistant. Apart from international qualifications, the training helps you to directly pursue advance qualifications. Versatility in training is the key to success to meet the challenges of the ever-changing aviation industry.

ism boards, consulates, Visa Facilitiation Services (VFS) offices, cruise liners, etc. The options in related fields are immense, and within this industry, growth opportunities are also present.

The industry is seeing a high attrition rate at present. What can be done to tackle this?
The misconceptions prevalent are many. At the lower levels, employees are not paid very well, and other sectors such as BPOs offer higher salaries to freshers, who would otherwise require to undertake courses to be at par with them in respect of salary. Employers will have to rethink their approach if they want the crème de la crème in students, and have to raise the pay scales. A correct balance of job satisfaction, a little bit of socialising is necessary for growth, and the travel industry offers a good blend of this.

Companies will have to invest in its people. This, in turn, will improve the organisation’s profitability, efficiency and productivity. It is important to show employees respect and keep them interested. For instance, if the top-level management of a travel company go for FAM trips, without giving an opportunity to the staff, it will lead to disillusionment. Youth today are very ambitious and there are many options available to distract them, thus it is important to keep them motivated and gain their loyalty.

Do you feel specialisation or generalisation will be the key to survive?
It is the age of specialisation. The travel industry is moving in a different direction. By 2007, e-ticketing will be mandatory and all airlines will have to implement it. Therefore, if one is merely equipped with ticketing and fares knowledge, he will be extinct. Plus we are moving towards a zero commission structure the world over. Thus creating a hue and cry over this without planning for the future will be detrimental for the survival of an agent. Students need to upgrade and equip themselves with the latest trends in the industry. Today, a traveller has access to much more information through the internet and his level of exposure is extremely high. So an agent needs to specialise on the destination, over and above bookish knowledge, which is accessible to all. Gone are the days when an agent would be a one-stop shop for the entire range of services. This is reflected in the scenario today, as many agencies are specialising in only certain destinations or in certain segments.

What courses does your institute offer?
The Institute of Hotel Cargo and Tourism Management (IHCTM) is the only center in the world authorised for seven IATA qualifications. Our institute has been in the field of vocational training since 1954.

We are offering a wide range of courses from IATA/UFTAA and IATA/ FIATA qualification, various diplomas and integrated courses. We are the only center in India authorised for four levels of IATA exams which is the IATA/UUFTA foundation, consultant, management and senior management, the latter two being the new programmes offered by the institute and deals with aspects going to be trends in the travel industry today and in the near future which has to do with special interest tours, MICE, technology, marketing and so on. In fact, we have a lot of people entering courses to get jobs at middle management levels or for growth in their careers, and they can pursue these courses simultaneously while working, and earn back a part of their course fees.

With so many institutes mushrooming around the country, what advice will you give to the students to select the right one?
There are approximately 70 per cent institutes over the country which impart suspect quality education Today, travel training institutes have franchises all over the country, but what is critical is that the quality and depth of training and knowledge application is not present. Expertise cannot be duplicated, and visiting faculty usually provide glamour, and just skim over the surface than impart value education. And with a single bad experience, students do not enrol themselves in another institute, if they drop out, finding the training unsatisfactory. Some institutes function with the sole objective of making money and compromise on training quality.

Feedback from the industry regarding institutes is critical and students should carefully research on the background and the faculty, and then arrive at a decision after speaking to the alumni and industry sources, and checking what courses are relevant and in-depth. Also, students are not aware of the wide spectrum of courses available in India. They will pursue a tourism course in Switzerland, when the same course is available in India at 1/10th of the cost, because of sheer lack of awareness. If one wants to go for higher studies abroad, they can complete their basic training in India and then go abroad