<p>Seeking out openings for pilots and advising them on how to get the post has been the core role of Brookfield Aviation for more than 25 years. Last year’s major anniversary has given co-founder and CEO, David George, a chance to assess how the recruitment business and his company have changed and to pass on some experience to job candidates.</p>
<p><img alt="George David - CEO Brookfield Aviation" src="/getasset/2efe1b72-00e3-4364-b938-89887ce831a6/" /></p>
<p>When he began the business with his late business partner, Bernie Duffield, such companies were few and far between. “It was pre-internet and we just sort of phoned around the world and started a business,” George recalls. “The nature of what we do has changed enormously in that time. I’m not sure if it’s necessarily for the better – for us or for the industry – but as with all walks of life, the internet changes everything. But we move with the times.</p>
<p>“A lot of people in this generation believe that contacts are someone that they link in with on the internet and send a few emails to, but it’s a lot more than that really. At Brookfield, we still work in the old way, we still meet with people. We meet with our pilots and our clients continually,” he emphasises. “We have relationships with the flight operations departments of different airlines and like with every business, it’s all about good contact, good relationships. We spend a lot of money in doing that because we have to mark ourselves out a little bit differently from those coming into the business to jump on the bandwagon.”</p>
<p>The CEO believes the basic principles of the business have remained the same over the years. “You look after your clients, you make good connections, you meet people, so they get to know you and that you do a good job,” he states.</p>
<p>The job market itself remains a cycle and George remembers that it was very poor position in the cycle for the pilots when Brookfield started. “When we found some requirements, there would always be lots of interest from pilots because there wasn’t a lot of opportunity. There was quite a lot of unemployment in the industry at the time. It was easy from the point of view of finding pilots, but not so easy to find requirements,” he says.</p>
<p>“In the late 1990s, everything got better and better. Then 9/11 happened in 2001 – airlines went out of business, pilots were flung out of work. It was a shocking time but – setting aside the reasons it happened – it provided a bit of correction in the market.</p>
<p>“You’ve now got different factors coming into play with the demand coming from the developing world,” George continues. “Also, in the early 2000s, the big deal was the low-cost airlines in Europe and they were drawing in a lot of people. That’s continuing but it’s flattened off a little bit.”</p>
<p>In addition to finding pilots permanent jobs, Brookfield also works with contract pilots, helping to place them with airlines needing extra pilots quickly. “The requirements come in numerous ways,” notes George. “In certain cases, it’s a question of a short-term contract, possibly for a summer season. It could be short-term because there’s a new aircraft type being introduced to an airline and they’re sending their pilots away to be type-rated and, in the meantime, the airline needs people to fly the existing fleet. It could be the other way around, it could be that they’re getting a new aircraft type and then they need some instructors from us and extra crew to fly the new type.</p>
<p>“It could be, as in certain parts of the world, there are just not enough pilots being produced to satisfy the demand created by aircraft arriving from the OEMs or the second-user market. This happens a lot in the developing markets particularly. They can send students away to train as pilots. In a couple of years’ time, they can operate as First Officers, but then getting the experience to become Captains takes several years.</p>
<p>“The whole process is like growing trees,” he adds. “You plant the seeds now but it’s going to be some years until you get that level of expertise within the company. In the meantime, they use the foreign Captains, particularly in Asia, that we would supply.”</p>
<p>Finally George addresses the areas to which candidates should give extra attention in applications. Some might suddenly be making an application after 15-20 years of not having done so, as was the case for some Monarch pilots. “We went up to their careers day – they invited employers, agencies – and we talked to people, some of whom had worked there for 20 or more years, even 30 years,” the CEO reports. “Even people you would think are seasoned get it wrong. I think there’s a myth the pilot shortage being massive, so anyone who can fly a plane can get a job anywhere in the world. It just isn’t so.</p>
<p>“When it comes to the pilot applications, you’d be amazed how many people send their documents to us with expired proficiency checks, expired medicals, a passport that’s got three months to run on it and that sort of thing. They get eliminated at the start,” George remarks. “Give extra attention to all the documentation. I’m continually surprised at how sloppy some pilots can be with this. You wonder what sort of professional they’re going to be.</p>
<p>“Nowadays, documents very often have to be verified by the pilot’s aviation authority, because so many people can do things by photoshop and forge stuff. Everything has to bear scrutiny and some of this stuff is just so obvious – like not having completed a log book or missing a log book stamp plus those expiry date problems.”</p>
<p>George advises those looking for new positions not to be surprised about the level of competition. “For example, we recently needed four 737 captains for a relatively short-term seasonal placement in Europe and we had 26 credible candidates. Even in a strong market like now, you still have to compete,” he emphasises.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><strong><a href="https://jobs.flightglobal.com/employer/10000960/brookfield-aviation-international-ltd/">Why not take a look at the latest jobs from Brookfield Aviation International Ltd. </a></strong></em></p>
<p><img alt="George David - CEO Brookfield Aviation" src="/getasset/2efe1b72-00e3-4364-b938-89887ce831a6/" /></p>
<p>When he began the business with his late business partner, Bernie Duffield, such companies were few and far between. “It was pre-internet and we just sort of phoned around the world and started a business,” George recalls. “The nature of what we do has changed enormously in that time. I’m not sure if it’s necessarily for the better – for us or for the industry – but as with all walks of life, the internet changes everything. But we move with the times.</p>
<p>“A lot of people in this generation believe that contacts are someone that they link in with on the internet and send a few emails to, but it’s a lot more than that really. At Brookfield, we still work in the old way, we still meet with people. We meet with our pilots and our clients continually,” he emphasises. “We have relationships with the flight operations departments of different airlines and like with every business, it’s all about good contact, good relationships. We spend a lot of money in doing that because we have to mark ourselves out a little bit differently from those coming into the business to jump on the bandwagon.”</p>
<p>The CEO believes the basic principles of the business have remained the same over the years. “You look after your clients, you make good connections, you meet people, so they get to know you and that you do a good job,” he states.</p>
<p>The job market itself remains a cycle and George remembers that it was very poor position in the cycle for the pilots when Brookfield started. “When we found some requirements, there would always be lots of interest from pilots because there wasn’t a lot of opportunity. There was quite a lot of unemployment in the industry at the time. It was easy from the point of view of finding pilots, but not so easy to find requirements,” he says.</p>
<p>“In the late 1990s, everything got better and better. Then 9/11 happened in 2001 – airlines went out of business, pilots were flung out of work. It was a shocking time but – setting aside the reasons it happened – it provided a bit of correction in the market.</p>
<p>“You’ve now got different factors coming into play with the demand coming from the developing world,” George continues. “Also, in the early 2000s, the big deal was the low-cost airlines in Europe and they were drawing in a lot of people. That’s continuing but it’s flattened off a little bit.”</p>
<p>In addition to finding pilots permanent jobs, Brookfield also works with contract pilots, helping to place them with airlines needing extra pilots quickly. “The requirements come in numerous ways,” notes George. “In certain cases, it’s a question of a short-term contract, possibly for a summer season. It could be short-term because there’s a new aircraft type being introduced to an airline and they’re sending their pilots away to be type-rated and, in the meantime, the airline needs people to fly the existing fleet. It could be the other way around, it could be that they’re getting a new aircraft type and then they need some instructors from us and extra crew to fly the new type.</p>
<p>“It could be, as in certain parts of the world, there are just not enough pilots being produced to satisfy the demand created by aircraft arriving from the OEMs or the second-user market. This happens a lot in the developing markets particularly. They can send students away to train as pilots. In a couple of years’ time, they can operate as First Officers, but then getting the experience to become Captains takes several years.</p>
<p>“The whole process is like growing trees,” he adds. “You plant the seeds now but it’s going to be some years until you get that level of expertise within the company. In the meantime, they use the foreign Captains, particularly in Asia, that we would supply.”</p>
<p>Finally George addresses the areas to which candidates should give extra attention in applications. Some might suddenly be making an application after 15-20 years of not having done so, as was the case for some Monarch pilots. “We went up to their careers day – they invited employers, agencies – and we talked to people, some of whom had worked there for 20 or more years, even 30 years,” the CEO reports. “Even people you would think are seasoned get it wrong. I think there’s a myth the pilot shortage being massive, so anyone who can fly a plane can get a job anywhere in the world. It just isn’t so.</p>
<p>“When it comes to the pilot applications, you’d be amazed how many people send their documents to us with expired proficiency checks, expired medicals, a passport that’s got three months to run on it and that sort of thing. They get eliminated at the start,” George remarks. “Give extra attention to all the documentation. I’m continually surprised at how sloppy some pilots can be with this. You wonder what sort of professional they’re going to be.</p>
<p>“Nowadays, documents very often have to be verified by the pilot’s aviation authority, because so many people can do things by photoshop and forge stuff. Everything has to bear scrutiny and some of this stuff is just so obvious – like not having completed a log book or missing a log book stamp plus those expiry date problems.”</p>
<p>George advises those looking for new positions not to be surprised about the level of competition. “For example, we recently needed four 737 captains for a relatively short-term seasonal placement in Europe and we had 26 credible candidates. Even in a strong market like now, you still have to compete,” he emphasises.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em><strong><a href="https://jobs.flightglobal.com/employer/10000960/brookfield-aviation-international-ltd/">Why not take a look at the latest jobs from Brookfield Aviation International Ltd. </a></strong></em></p>