UNLEASH sat down with Europe’s largest aerospace company’s SVP of Leadership & Talent to discuss the talent and skills shortage, and how LinkedIn tools are helping Airbus to continue to attract and retain top talent.
Europe's largest aerospace company, Airbus, is on a mission to stay ahead of the talent crisis affecting the sector.
In an exclusive interview with Airbus' SVP of Leadership & Talent Martin Stöckl, UNLEASH dug into the solutions that Airbus has implemented to ensure it can attract and retain skilled talent now and in the future
Find out how LinkedIn HR tech tools, and social media platforms in general, are supporting Airbus' mission.
Globally, the aerospace sector is facing a talent crisis.
Research found that a new civil aviation professional will be needed every four minutes – this means 300,000 more pilots, 300,000 more maintenance engineers and 600,000 more cabin crew are necessary over the next decade.
Not to mention the new jobs that will be created as a result of digital technologies like AI, and the push for the sector to become more sustainable.
In this context, Europe’s largest aerospace company Airbus is really stepping up to ensure it can “attract, develop, and retain the best talent out there”.
In an exclusive UNLEASH interview, Martin Stöckl, Senior Vice President of Leadership and Talent at Airbus, shares the €65.4 billion-revenue aerospace giant’s secrets to success.
Hint, LinkedIn and its recruitment tools are an essential part of the puzzle.
Airbus has received lots of recognition for being an employer of choice, and a great place to work.
When asked the reasoning behind these accolades, Stöckl tells UNLEASH that learning and development plays a huge role.
“Airbus invests heavily in nurturing talent” – it ensures all 147,000 of its global employees have access to “continuous learning opportunities that help them grow professionally and personally”, notes Stöckl.
“This focus on growth is coupled with a supportive environment that encourages employees to take on new challenges, ensuring they feel empowered to build long-term, meaningful careers,” he adds.
This is why internal mobility, and ensuring everyone has a meaningful career path, is another priority for Airbus; “whether it’s moving between roles, teams, or even entire divisions, we’ve created an environment where employees can explore new opportunities within the company,” he shares.
Ultimately, the aim is to equip “our workforce to stay on the front foot with the evolving world of work”.
“We must focus on upskilling and reskilling our workforce to address the evolving needs of the industry, particularly in areas related to sustainability and new technologies,” adds Stöckl.
He tells UNLEASH: “It’s an exciting time for engineers, or anyone actually, to be joining the industry” – “the engineers we need now and in the next 10 years will look very different to the ones we needed 30 years ago”.
“As our aircraft become more connected we need engineers with skills in data science, analytics and AI.”
AI in general is top of mind for Airbus. “One of our key principles is finding the right balance and using it responsibly” – there’s a lot of use cases, including in recruitment, but “we’re very clear that it will never make a final decision without human oversight”.
AI is a “powerful tool, but people will always be at the heart of what we do”, notes Stöckl.
Going back to the skills of the future, Stöckl continues: “Next generational aircraft will be built around a whole new range of propulsion technologies where we need specialists in cryogenics, hydrogen and electric high voltage.”
Not the mention, the ‘soft’ skills that engineers will need to thrive in the future of the aerospace space – whether that’s appetite for continuous learning, strong communication skills or project management capabilities.
While learning, development and mobility are top of mind, given the talent and skills shortage in the aerospace industry, external hiring remains “essential” for Airbus.
Stöckl shares: “We need the right infusion of both” if the aerospace giant is to get the right “diverse skill mix” it needs to thrive now and into the future.
The good news is that job seekers want to work for Airbus – in 2024, the aerospace giant received 1.1 million individual applications, working out at 100 applicants per job posts.
This is more than double than 2023; “an exciting but significant challenge”, notes Stöckl.
“To make sense of this volume and ensure we’re finding the right skills, we rely on technology to help us filter and navigate through it all” – one vendor that stands out is LinkedIn, and particularly its Recruiter and Talent Insights tools.
In fact, 40% of all of Airbus’ lead applications come through LinkedIn, and its tools “not only help us attract top talent, but also foster a diverse workforce, which is critical to our continued growth and innovation”.
As part of his SVP of Leadership and Talent role, Stöckl leads Airbus’ efforts around inclusion and diversity.
Beyond LinkedIn’s specific talent tools, Airbus also sees the benefit of social media platforms to find and attract talent.
Social media can help to “authentically showcase what’s happening at Airbus – from our inclusion and diversity initiatives, to stories about and from our own faces on the team”.
Yes, “a company website can provide information”, but “social media allows us to highlight the real culture at Airbus through employee stories, programs and personal posts”, Stöckl tells UNLEASH.
He adds: “It’s about…letting our people advocate for what it’s really like to work here, which is key to attracting a diverse and talent workforce”.
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Chief Reporter
Allie is an award-winning business journalist and can be reached at alexandra@unleash.ai.
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