Will your plane have a pilot in 2027? To meet global demand, airline companies currently hire dozens of pilots every day! Do you dream of being a pilot? That bodes well how do you become a professional pilot and what are the real job prospects?
Reports from CAE and Boeing, released in the summer of 2017, highlight the shortage of airline pilots. The figures are eloquent!
- 255,000 airline pilots are expected to be hired by 2027 worldwide (85,000 in North America)
- 50% of the pilots who will be hired have not yet started their training.
There are several factors to explain this upsurge in hiring:
- many retirements: 105,000 pilots retired worldwide in 2016
- the multiplication of destinations and the increase in demand for flights,
- legislation to come in 2018 on management of pilot fatigue, the impact of their flight schedules
While professionals who have already been on the market for a few years can testify to the difficulties they had to get their first job, having to prove themselves and get their initial flight hours in small companies on small aircraft, new pilots, barely graduated, are being courted and immediately hired by large companies.
While Air Canada, West Jet and Air Transat already foresee 400 hirings this fall, smaller companies are likely to suffer even more from the shortage of airline pilots.
To facilitate hiring of young pilots, airline companies have established partnerships with colleges and universities that offer aviation programs.
Some companies are in such demand that they sometimes hire pilots with 250 hours of experience while in the past airline pilots had to have a mandatory 1500 validated hours of flying time to claim to fly their aircraft.
Are you tempted by the prestige of the uniform and an exciting career? Here are the three main methods to obtain an airline pilot’s license.
- The Canadian Army (the number trained by the Canadian Army since 2012 has dropped from 4000 to 3000 recruits per year).
- The CQFA Centre Québécois de Formation Aéronautique – Cégep de Chicoutimi offers a three-year program in aircraft pilot techniques. The cost of training is the same as that for a traditional technique. But spots are very popular!
- Pilot schools: There are many throughout Canada, which can let you get your pilot’s license at your own pace (generally 1.5 to 2 years). To find and select a pilot school that meets your needs, you need to find out about rates, aircraft, locations… A visit is often very enlightening! Training at a private school is estimated at $55,000 – $60,000.
There are great job opportunities, as confirmed by the dynamism of aerospace in Canada in general.