‘Nigeria Requires 9,000 Pilot In Fiver Years’

For Nigeria to remain relevant in the global aviation sector in the next five years, no fewer than 9,000pilot will be required, says the Director –General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr, Harold Demuren.

He said “ at present there are 934 pilot, 1,382 cabin crew members, 325 Air Traffic controllers and 865 aircraft maintenance engineers in the country.

He said the request for technical personnel was bound to increase as a result of the rapid growth being experienced in the aviation industry.

According to him, international aviation business will double in the next 20 years and demand will strain the supply of all types of safety personnel, including pilot, maintenance engineers and air traffic controllers. So, there will be need for more pilots engineers , cabin crew, more air traffic controllers, more flight dispatchers and more airport operation personnel”

Unfortunately, skilled aviation professionals such as pilots, maintenance engineers air traffic controllers and others cannot be cloned over-night. It takes time, it required money and years of experience after training” he added.

He lamented that the aviation industry in Africa was losing skilled professionals to middle East and Asian Operators , that offered better conditions of service.

“Most male technical personnel in the industry are prone to constant migration for improved packages while their female counterparts are more stable” he said.

He noted that NCAA had as a result of the constant movement of male personnel devised a means to attract and retain skilled personnel by encouraging the training of female aviation personnel in the sub-sector.

Demuren explained that “aviation training is capital- intensive as one- third of the agency’s budget is committed to the training of safety professionals, adding that the regulatory agency is pushing for 10 percent of the Bilateral Air Service Agreement funds be dedicated for the training of pilots, engineers , cabin crew and air traffic controllers in the Nigeria college of Aviation Technology, Zaria.

“NCAA is also encouraging state Governments who are building airports as currently being done in Asaba, Gombe, Uyo and others to invest in the training of aviation  personnel” he said.