SkyPeople Training Soars Amid Cabin Crew Shortage

SkyPeople Training is seeing demand take off as it helps the aviation industry tackle a huge global shortage of cabin crew.

According to Canadian flight crew training company CAE’s 2023 Aviation Talent Forecast, almost 600,000 cabin crew staff will be needed globally over the next 10 years. Ryanair alone has unveiled plans to recruit 10,000 staff over the next decade as it expands its fleet with hundreds of new aircraft.

SkyPeople Training has seen dramatic growth in demand this year for the hands-on programmes it runs for students from colleges and universities across the UK which are educating the next generation of cabin crew.

So far in 2024, SkyPeople Training has worked with more than 40 UK colleges and universities and more than 25 airlines across the UK and Europe. The number of college and university students attending its sessions so far this year is approaching 1,000 and has nearly trebled compared with the same period in 2023.

SkyPeople Training, which delivers courses across the UK and internationally, has expanded its bespoke aviation training academy in Manchester as a result of the increase in student numbers attending the facility, where it also provides training for existing cabin crew and pilots employed by passenger and cargo airlines worldwide.

It has recently added a new classroom at its academy as well as a mid-exit door for the Boeing 737 Max jet, with an entire replica Boeing 737 flight deck due to come later in the year.

Mike Lawson, SkyPeople’s training, project and outreach manager, said: “Our close ties with a number of leading carriers enables us to help students find cabin crew roles once they successfully complete their courses, as they can register their interest in jobs that become available through our links with airlines.

“In 2023, we mentored a group of final-year aviation management students at Manchester Metropolitan University, getting them industry-ready and linking them to employment opportunities.

“In addition, this June we will be hosting our second Travel & Tourism, Aviation and Cabin Crew Lecturers Conference, which will be an opportunity for college lecturers from across the UK to join us for a day of CPD training delivered by ourselves and our airline partners, including Aer Lingus UK, British Airways and Ryanair’s recruitment partner Cabin Crew International.”

SkyPeople was acquired last year by Manchester-headquartered EDM, which manufactures and assembles training simulators for sectors including civil aviation, defence and rail industries.