The Hindu : Kerala News : Aviation Industry: The new El Dorado for intelligent, Smart and enterprising youth of India

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Friday, Apr 25, 2008
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Aviation Industry: The new El Dorado for intelligent, Smart and enterprising youth of India

Aviation industry is going to be the El Dorado by the second decade of the new millennium. There is glamour, luxury, affluence and opulence associated with the coveted airline jobs. Job aspirants often associate svelte appearance and personal pulchritude as the sine qua non of Airline Industry. And those with average score in these, try to rule themselves out of such an elite arena. But our young men and women should remember that Air Hostess is not the only Airline job, pilots and pursers are not the only airline officers.

For an airborne flight hardly a dozen crew is required to manage its operations where as before its take off more than 5 dozens people would have worked. Imagine what the figures would be when we realize that there are flights innumerable and multiplicity of airlines, existing, newly launched and waiting on the wings to be launched. There are opportunities galore for Ground crew in National and International Airlines and if we go by a humble estimate of career experts, there are more than 90,000 jobs on the anvil with the increased Air traffic. There are 212 million people working in Airline industry, world-wide.

It is a sad fact reported by airline recruiters that the number of Keralites who opt for such challenging new careers is quite marginal.

It is a strange paradox that a very friendly and migratory people like the Keralites should shy away from such glamorous opportunities. This probably is because of customary diffidence resulting from poor communication skills, almost negative body language and the faux pas likely to be committed because of the ignorance of social etiquette. All these can be remedied. What is required is a positive approach, the staunch faith in one self. This self confident approach would help you trouble shoot any crisis.

Since the ground crew job is associated with customer care where one has to encounter people of different nationalities, good communication skills in English is a mandatory requirement. Working knowledge of National language will be an added advantage.

Linguistic skills boost your morale. Ground crew is an umbrella term to include all jobs associated with the handling of passenger, baggage and cargo providing assistance to the incapacitated and those who need help with Airport regulations, Customer care and Terminal staff. Successful people are those who make opportunities for self development out of each difficulty, work hard consistently and enthusiastically towards the goal they set for themselves.

The youth of Kerala are well-motivated, aspiring and enterprising. With the right grooming they can be made an asset to the airline industry world-wide. The Airline field is almost a virgin ground in Far East and Middle East countries.

There is an acute shortage of professionally and technically qualified staff in the airlines of many emerging economies.

Working abroad in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society will provide our youth with a broadened out look in life, an orientation towards different types of work culture and the ethos of different airlines, a promising future with a respectable bank balance and above all a chance for a full realization of the latent powers in each one of them. Those who are directly absorbed by the reputed Airlines will enjoy special benefits like free air travel and promotional avenues.

Though entry level educational qualification for many airlines is Plus Two and Tenth standard from international schools in Emirate and other Airlines, graduation is the minimum qualification in Air India.

With the right type of training Plus Two qualified young men and women can land in a safe and promising job. There is nothing impossible in this world.

Has not Napoleon said ’Impossible is a word that can be found only in coward’s dictionary?

K.M.Zulfikar, Chairman & Managing Director, Airline TrainingAcademy,Varkala.

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