FABEC recruitment conference prioritises digital skills and stronger branding

At the Functional Airspace Block Europe Central (FABEC) online conference Recruiting in a changing environment, that took place yesterday Prof. Klaus-Dieter Scheurle, Chairman FABEC CEO board and CEO DFS, addressed the pressing need to attract young talent to support the industry’s digital transformation and to meet future traffic growth. More than 50 delegates from all over the world, ranging from Europe, to Africa and Asia attended the online event to hear from experts about innovative ways to appeal to a new generation of air traffic control professionals.

Klaus-Dieter Scheurle said: We need to continue our recruiting efforts to have the post-COVID generation of our ATC personnel on board when we need them. I am very glad to see this is common sense. And there is another momentum: The time to shape and build the “Digital Single European Sky” is now. Therefore, we need highly skilled people with a digital mind-set, who are enthusiastic about pushing the aviation industry towards the next digital level.”

COVID-19 has added to recruitment challenges by reducing job security and lessening the prospect of high rewards. At the same time high-tech industries continue to attract a rising share of digital talent and aviation is falling behind emerging, fast-moving sectors in attracting new entrants.

Keynote speakers from outside the industry discussed the importance of developing a sustainable employer brand, and presentations from recruiting experts shared best practice for communicating with young people in today’s virtual environment. Air navigation service providers from across Europe described their experiences in the development of new recruiting and selection strategies including the launch of a graduate programme, an end-to-end virtual recruiting process and a proactive human-centric approach.