Consultant Well May Be Drying Up …
… at least, that’s the word from the Airport Consultants Council, held in Ft. Lauderdale this week. An opening session at the ACC’s annual conference highlighted the fact that many airport consulting firms are doggedly looking for new hires – engineers; architects; planners; designers, etc. One company says it can hire more than 200 today … if they were available.
And therein lies the problem. They aren’t. While ACC officials don’t see a need to sound a warning siren to industry just yet, it could come in the not too distant future. The talent pool has dried up. Paula Hochstetler, president of ACC, speculates that a significant part of the problem may lie in the fact that the IT age is to blame. The information technology industry draws from the same pool as does the ACC crowd. Techies and engineers are the same breed, it seems. She suggests that, ironically, it may those same techies who help fill the void in the long run, providing new technology solutions to what is done manually today. We’ll see.
Bottom line: The potential exists that in a few years airports could find their infrastructure projects being stalled by a shortage of expertise. T.J. Schulz, ACC vice president, ponders whether the forthcoming battle for funding reauthorization should include Congressional action on this critical subject. At the very least, he says, just having language in the bill could go a long way in giving the issue visibility. Taking that a step further, maybe Congress could give some tax breaks to those who seek engineering or related degrees.
Thanks for reading. jfi
John: just found your article and comments on “how hard it is to find good help.” I agree 100%. I’ve been helping airport consultants find other airport consultants to join their team for a LONG time now and it gets increasingly difficult. Those most likely to succeed in growing their teams are those that will exhibit flexibility to get those who increasingly won’t or can’t relocate.
My 2 cents, happy to talk about it with you anytime if you want!
Grice Whiteley
Airport Consulting Practice Leader
Management Recruiters of Raleigh
Raleigh, NC
919-781-0400
grice@mriraleigh.com
John
Sorry I missed this article first time around. I get so engrossed in Ralph Hoods archives that I miss other valuable parts of the magazine.
I have some heartburn on the subject of consulting. I offer maintenance and manufacturing services to the aviation fuel industry, and I have done two consulting jobs for engineering firms, both were supposed to be the beginning of a long and productive relationship.
In both cases we started out with hopelessly cut and pasted specs from what was obviously a different airport than teh one we were working on. After cleaning up the mess, and in one case being the project manager, the phone hasn’t rung once. I’m sure both firms took the plans and specs which I developed, and now they have a better product to cut and past on subsequent projects.
I’m back at making a living straightening out projects which were built wrong by others.
John:
Sorry I didn’t see you at at the conference. I was there Sunday and Monday but had to leave early Tuesday.
What evidently is not being said is that there are many experienced airport planners, engineers etc. who were forcibly retired because of bottom line considerations, IT experience etc. What was thrown away was called experience, in my case 33 years as a PE and planner. I would love to work on an as needed basis. I know there are a number of others like me that have something to offer our industry. I don’t feel sorry for them….they are reaping what they have sown. In your words, “thanks for listening”.
Interesting thoughts, John. My second book, now being written, is about Careers in the Aviation Industry, with emphasis on “the other careers”. “Other Careers” are everything except jobs as pilots, technicians and air traffic controllers. The field of Consulting is being characterized as an area that offers a wide range of challenges and opportunities.
Miriam