Aerobility: Inclusive Hiring Can Help Solve Aerospace Talent Crisis

LONDON—Diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies and programs may be under attack in the U.S., but the gains made during decades of disability-rights campaigning should help protect the aviation industry from any negative consequences, a leading figure in the UK’s disabled flying charity Aerobility says. But barriers to opportunities within the sector are still too high, with significant negative consequences for aviation companies, which remain mired in a struggle to recruit and retain sufficient suitable staff.

“Obviously we’re extremely worried about what’s happening in the U.S., and it’s been the topic of a lot of discussion over the last month or two,” Harvey Matthewson, Aerobility’s advocacy manager, tells the Aviation Week Network on the sidelines of the organization’s second Destination Equal Skies conference held here April 29. “UK-wide, I haven’t noticed that change—in fact, with the government we currently have, it seems to be still quite high on their agenda, which is really positive. Leading by example in this field is so fundamental—and it would be brilliant, because the UK leads in so many areas when it comes to aviation.”

Crucially, it is not just disability-rights campaigners who are saying this. Destination Equal Skies’ keynote was given by Sir Stephen Hillier, chair of the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, who told the event that “ensuring people with a disability have equal access to the benefits and opportunities provided by aviation” is “vital to the future success of the sector.” But, he acknowledged, the path to that realization may not always be a smooth one. He traces his own determination to see disabled people having equal rights to access the industry back to a talk he gave, in a previous role, to an audience of schoolchildren.

“I had done my pitch, and I invited questions, and one came from a young girl, 12 years old,” he recalled. “She happened to be deaf ... and her question was quite simple. She said she was really interested in flying an aircraft and would she, although deaf, be able to work with aircraft in the future? Frankly, I didn’t answer the question at all well. The fact is, I didn’t know the answer, and the look of disappointment on her face was very plain for me to see. I’m highly motivated to be able to answer such a question better today, not only in the words that I might use, but actually in the facts of the situation. I want to ensure that I do whatever I can so that in future my response would be: ‘Yes, of course you can—and here’s how.’”

According to figures cited by Aerobility, almost one in four people in the UK—24%—has a disability. If the aerospace and aviation sectors are not actively ensuring that vacancies are open to disabled people, they are shutting themselves off to a quarter of potential applicants, in the middle of  a talent crisis of unprecedented depth and scale.

“We [the CAA] have expanded into areas such as future flight, space, sustainability and airspace modernization, growing our organization in size and capability along the way,” Hillier says. “The expansion reflects the fact that the UK remains one of the world’s leading and still-growing aerospace nations. We will, of course, only sustain that situation if we are able to recruit the brightest, the best and the most diverse workforce, ensuring that we give equal access to the enterprise. It’s not only a moral duty—it’s a practical imperative if we are to succeed.”

Martyna Snopek is both senior design and development engineer and deputy head of airworthiness for Virgin Atlantic. A car accident left her paralyzed from the waist down at the age of seven, but as well as building a career in aviation, she has gone on to represent Poland in the Olympics and to complete “roughly 40” marathons. It is not her disability that prevents her doing things, she told the conference, but the often-well-meaning limitations other people automatically assume she must have, which lead them to assume that accommodating people with disabilities must be difficult and/or expensive. Her advice to employers is simple.

“It’s about talking,” she says. “I know I’m in a wheelchair—it’s not a secret! So, if there’s a question, please ask me. I had a very good experience on my first day at work, when the facilities manager came over to me [and said] ‘Let’s walk round the hangar and see what we can or cannot do, what are the problems.’” Snopek identified two things: the kitchen had a hot water tap, which meant she was unable to see when her cup was full when making tea; and that a set of door handles were a little bit too high. “So, I just point out that these are the problems. They’re not urgent, I can live with them. Within two hours they moved the handles by 180 degrees because it was simple to do, and the next day they built me a tiny little shelf with my own kettle on it. That was all I needed. But the main thing was, they came and asked me the question.”

These conversations need to happen at the very earliest stage of engagement, which means ensuring that jobs are advertised in places and formats where people with disabilities will be able to see them, and with application procedures in place that ensure those people are not unintentionally prevented from progressing. “If your recruitment process isn’t inclusive, then you’ve had it before you’ve even begun,” Matthewson says. “Getting that right is really fundamental to the entire process.”

Snopek’s experiences underline that there are businesses in aerospace that are striking the right balance. Virgin also came in for praise from conference attendees as being generally regarded as the most disabled-friendly airline. Matthewson, who has cerebral palsy and holds a private pilot license, believes the UK’s aerospace sector should be proud of its achievements—even if it needs to be ready to redouble its efforts to ensure its products, and its workplaces, remain accessible to all.

“The industry should give itself a bit of credit, because in terms of the willingness to get better at these things, it’s there,” he says. “People are really keen to have more diverse workforces, and that’s the main thing, because the willingness is where it all starts and ends.”