Operators need to collaborate and highlight the appeal of working in the industry, instead of their own set-ups, to tackle the expected shortfall in skilled workers.

Civil aviation’s Commercial Services Market covers four distinct segments – MRO and modifications, parts and supply chain, training and professional services, and digital solutions and analytics – even if they are all inextricably linked.

Its notable presence in all four has enabled Boeing to accurately predict the market’s growth in its annual 20-year forecast, making use of the same proprietary models it uses to predict world airline fleet and government budgets, factoring in independent assessments of the forces driving specific markets.

According to its latest report, the Commercial Services Market will grow by 4.3 percent every year over the next two decades – a striking increase that will require the recruitment of 2.4 million new personnel, of which 716,000 are highly-skilled technicians. Meanwhile, an Airbus report, its 2024-43 Global Services Forecast, calculates the shortfall will be as much as 690,000.

In countries where populations are ageing fast – for example, in western and central Europe – this is an industry-wide problem. It’s hard to see how these countries will cope without recruiting skilled workers from overseas.

But in the Commercial Services Market, even the countries with young populations face a shortage of workers.

Africa faces an overall shortfall of 76,000 workers (technicians, pilots and cabin crew) but this could end up being much higher if Eurasia recruits workers from Africa to alleviate its own 1.065 million labour drain. After all, supply chain bottlenecks in Africa will ripple through to Eurasia. It’s a wake-up call for the entire industry that it’s not just about recruiting more talent, but creating more of it – and fast.

Challenges and opportunities for the aviation industry in 2025

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Talent pool-hopping not the answer: Better to attract and nurture than compete within the Commercial Services Market