As we
looked at the year ahead, Peak Performance devised a poll asking people ‘What
are your career aspirations for 2014?’ The poll finished at the end of February
2014, having received 250 responses.
The
results provided some clear answers:
·
32% of
people hope to directly change their employer
·
18% are
targeting a promotion from their current position
·
17% are
seeking a salary increase
What is
interesting about the result, is that two of the top three results, ‘Promotion’
and ‘Salary Increase’ (totalling 35% of respondents) are areas potentially
within the control of their current employer. This begs the question: do
employees feel that they are limited within their own organisation? Aircraft
lessors are typically quite lean organisations and, with that, opportunities to
progress internally are not always available.
This
may, explain why 32% of people responded to say they would like to change
employer. Often, we notice particular candidate interest toward start-up
opportunities. People like to be part of
that exciting growth period and to be provided with the opportunity to advance
their career and be rewarded through the growth stages.
We also
see new opportunities for change stemming from the growing interest from hedge
funds and other investors looking at aircraft leasing as a suitable investment
space. Companies like First Star, who
have opened their doors to aircraft leasing and Apollo Aviation who recently
raised USD$640 million in funding for aircraft and engine acquisitions. These
funds, as well as others, need staff, both to originate and manage the
transactions. People have a natural curiosity to see what is new and with that
they are always keen to see what opportunities there are for them.
On the
reverse side, ILFC the 2nd largest lessor will soon merge with
Aercap and this may create duplication of roles and bring new candidates into
the job market. Both ILFC and Aercap
have offices in China, Singapore, USA, Amsterdam and Ireland. No doubt Aercap
will seek to gain efficiencies across the board.
The
remaining results:
·
9% Learn New Skills
·
7% Career Change
·
7 % Change Geographical Location
·
6% Improve
work life balance
As with
promotion, people are usually hungry for some form of advancement. As we see
mid-sized lessors continue their growth, people’s roles become more defined and
organisations need to establish more structure to manage increases in deal
flow. Learning new skills is closely related to promotion as people seek to
develop their skill sets to allow them to take on new roles and of course
enhance their own contribution.
In
Ireland there has been a lot of media coverage around the growth of the
aircraft leasing industry. We frequently advise people on the prospect of a ‘Career
Change’ into the space. It is not widely understood that lessors differ from
airlines which are more people intensive.
Internally,
we have dealt with a high number of enquiries from people wishing to ‘Change
geographical location’ and relocate to Asia from both Europe and the US. These
people are often happy to work on a local contract basis, not requiring the
burden of expensive expat conditions. This is across all disciplines within
aircraft leasing.
We
find this interesting as the majority of requirements we receive from lessors
that want to expand in Asia require finding locals or people already based
there. Asia has seen continued growth with further demands for experienced
staff in the region, yet the region is still in its infancy, with many lessors
fighting for a very small pool of people. If employers were willing to relocate
or hire someone on a contract they could have a larger pool of people to choose
from who have the required level of experience.
Attaining
proper ‘Work Life Balance’ is always a challenge within aircraft leasing, given
the 24/7 nature of the business. However,
some companies are better than others at ensuring their organisations are sufficiently
staffed to allow people breathing space when required. This is also often
common within law firms where people are known to work excessive hours.
In
conclusion, we believe that individuals within the aircraft leasing market are
highly motivated people, otherwise they would not survive the demands put on
them. This high level of motivation means people want to be continually
challenged in their work and rewarded for their efforts. From an employment point of view the industry
at present is the most vibrant it has been since the credit crunch. With so
much activity and interest in the market at present, people have a natural
curiosity to see what other opportunities are available.
For more information contact Keith Garry - keith@aircraftleasing.ie