Aerospace industry picking up: companies hiring again

Bombardier C Series: Qatar Airways is said to close to placing an order

Canada's aerospace industry is picking up, according to Bombardier's senior director of talent acquisition, Stephane Pelletier. The company is preparing to hire 1500 new engineering and skilled trades staff. The staffing needs are largely the result of the company's new Global 7000 and 8000 series, its C-series and its Learjet 85 aircraft - three programs contributing to the rise in demand for engineers and skilled tradespeople. Ten to 20 per cent of its new hires will be recent graduates. 

Some of the jobs are highly specialized, so much so that that company has had to extend its recruitment search to the UK and France, as well as across Canada. 

The global upturn in aerospace is good for Canada, according to Cascade Aerospace CEO David Schellenberg, who recently spoke at a Vancouver Board of Trade Lunch and met with business leaders representing the Business Council of BC, BC Chamber of Commerce and others to share the key messages.

“An expected global demand for 30,000 aircraft represents an outstanding opportunity for Canadian aerospace, with the potential to double the number of aerospace jobs in BC and across the country by 2020,” says David Schellenberg.

Canada is home to the world’s fifth largest aerospace industry, employing nearly 80,000 people in 2009 and generating more than $22 billion in revenue from coast to coast. Western Canada employs close to 14,000 people in the industry, including more than 5,000 in BC.

“The aerospace sector’s success is based on Canadian expertise, intellectual property and entrepreneurial spirit,” continues Schellenberg. “The global market is growing, but global competition is also heating up. To remain competitive internationally and grow our industry at home, we need a more strategic approach and collaboration between government, business, industry and academia in order to capture the future potential of our industry and create high quality jobs here in BC and across Canada.”

According to a recent report by Deloitte entitled The Strategic and Economic Impact of the Canadian Aerospace Industry, the Canadian aerospace industry is expected to have generated $24.1 billion in revenue in 2010 and employed 82,956 people. More than 400 aerospace companies are located across Canada, with Greater Vancouver being BC's main aerospace cluster; benefiting from its proximity to Boeing’s home and strong aerospace community in neighbouring Washington state. The industry is also supported by one of Canada’s largest aerospace training centres at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Leading BC aerospace firms include ASCO Aerospace, Avcorp Industries, Cascade Aerospace, Kelowna Flightcraft, MDA Corp., MTU Maintenance, NGRAIN, Viking Air and Vector Aerospace.