It’s Not Just Pilots: The Aviation Talent Shortage & How to Solve It w/Jenny Showalter

There’s an acute talent shortage in aviation, and it’s not just being felt in flight departments. From pilots to maintenance and leaders, the industry is short-staffed, and solving this issue requires an all-in, concerted effort from all organizations and stakeholders. At the heart of our talent shortage is a crisis of leadership, and the hard truth that despite all it offers, aviation isn’t being viewed as an attractive career anymore. How do we show that aviation is a good industry to work in? What can we do to raise the leadership standard? In this episode, I’m joined by third-generation business aviation professional and career coach, Jenny Showalter. She shares what it takes to bring the best and brightest into aviation. We have an aviation talent shortage. We focus on the flight department roles, but it’s all throughout the industry . -Jenny Showalter Three Things You’ll Learn In This Episode -Leadership or lack thereof There aren’t a lot of younger, fresh blood leaders coming into this industry. How do we bring more in or develop the professionals we already have? -Everyone should be concerned and involved There’s no blanket solution for the workforce shortage we have, but what could go a long way to remedy it? -Learning from the most effective flight departments What do the best organizations do differently? Guest Bio Jenny Showalter is a third-generation business aviation professional and career coach. As Chief Motivational Officer at SBACC, she brings over 25 years of business aviation experience to her role. This experience stems from working in her family’s former FBO, Showalter Flying Service (KORL), leading regional business aviation associations in Florida, and most recently recruiting business aviation talent for corporate flight departments. Pairing her work experience with her roles as the wife, daughter, and sister of business aviation pilots, Jenny feels she’s uniquely qualified to help you navigate your business aviation career. For more information, head to https://www.showalter.com/ or email jshowalter@showalter.com . Learn More About Your Host: Co-founder and Managing Partner for Northstar Group, Craig is focused on recruiting senior-level leadership, sales, and operations executives for some of the most prominent companies in the aviation and aerospace industry. Clients include well-known aircraft OEMs, aircraft operators, leasing / financial organizations, and Maintenance / Repair / Overhaul (MRO) providers. Since 2009 Craig has personally concluded more than 150 executive searches in a variety of disciplines. As the only executive recruiter who has flown airplanes, sold airplanes, AND run a business, Craig is uniquely positioned to build deep, lasting relationships with both executives and the boards and stakeholders they serve. This allows him to use a detailed, disciplined process that does more than pair the ideal candidate with the perfect opportunity and hit the business goals of the companies he serves.