Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) flight operations director Capt Datuk Yahaya Abdul Rahman said the aviation industry would soon provide more job opportunities as local airlines were expanding aggressively.
He said Malaysia Airlines were buying new aircraft in the near future, and would be needing more pilots.
“There is no need for pilot trainees to worry,” he said, adding that although it may be difficult for them to secure jobs at the moment, the situation would soon improve.
Yahaya said the eight flying schools in the country licensed by the DCA were training pilots for the expected increase in demand.
The Star reported yesterday that the number of flying schools in the country had quadrupled from two to eight in three years, resulting in some 500 fresh pilots being jobless.
Royal Selangor Flying Club president Major (R) Abdul Razak Hashim attributed the current jobs shortage in the aviation industry to the economic downturn.
“The demand for pilots will shoot up by next year,” he said, adding that in the meantime, trainees could apply to join the country’s air force to gain diverse experience.
He advised trainees not to be choosy with jobs, and not to “do it for the glamour.”
“Don’t insist on working only for the commercial airlines,” he said.
Razak suggested that local flying schools offer training programmes accredited by European Union (EU) countries, which would make them marketable there.
“Malaysian flying academies currently provide licences that are only recognised locally,” he said, adding that it limited the new pilots from joining other international airlines.
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