vertrefadmin Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 I've been taking an informal poll of how the helicopter companies are doing as far as finding enough pilots and all have said they are having trouble finding and keeping qualified helicopter pilots and mechanics. I'll talk to some more operators at Heli-Expo but what this means for us working folks is the job market is good. I have noticed that helicopter pilots are fielding jobs mostly on pay and benefits. There are many jobs out there and some companies have discovered that pay, benefits, retirement, and work environment are items they MUST improve in order to appeal to a new employee. Employers: If you do not adjust your pay scale, add benefits, change the respect for your employees... you will lose your employees (especially the good ones) to other companies who do increase their pay scale, offer benefits, and treat their employees with respect... I have watched employers lose their valuable workers because they did not wish to change their attitude towards employees. We, the helicopter work force, will change the employers by taking jobs that have good pay, good benefits, a safe work environment, and respect from upper management. We can change the helicopter job market through collective action. A union or association is not required for this (although it could help),... we just need to take employment based on a new, higher standard and we can cause this change to happen. What do you all think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warpig Posted February 17, 2006 Report Share Posted February 17, 2006 well said. thats my main concern right now is not so much the highest payscale, rather the benefits and healthcare for me and my future wife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelliBoy Posted February 18, 2006 Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 Bravo, unfortunately though the fact will never change that employers willing to hire low time pilots willing to work for beans will pay them beans and treat them like beans. I wonder how many 1,000 hour pilots logged more time on a lawn mower in their first job. While this only applies to those low time guys, the attitude does tend to carry on into more proffesional jobs it seems. Employers seem to think that most pilots, regardless of hours, still have the low time attitude to some extent. I'm no socialist but I think the low-time pilot factor is why pilots should have an association or union. The less the newer pilots get dumped on the less everyone gets dumped on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copter doctor Posted February 18, 2006 Report Share Posted February 18, 2006 I am only a mechanic and private rated pilot but have been a member of PHPA- Professional Helicopter Pilots Association- for about three years now. If you haven't heard of them you may want to check them out. They are associated with the International Airline pilots orginization and working for better safety statistics and pay for Helo pilots. Many of their members are unionized but the orginization itself is not. You can check them out at Autorotate.com. Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vertrefadmin Posted February 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2006 Yes, PHPA is here is help us and we should use them. Main idea here is have us help ourselves also. If we keep working for peanuts, that is all we'll get. If you avoid the employers that pay less, those employers will eventually raise their pay to match the market (to attract more pilots) or they will have less and less pilots working for them and their productivity will decrease. Now, on the flip side we should offer the employer something. We should not sit on our behinds and expect employers to pay us more than what we are worth. If you are a pilot you should realize that your company needs you to help them make money. If your company doesn't make money you won't get the money in your pocket either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
copter doctor Posted February 20, 2006 Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 Rey, I agree with your statement. I mentioned PHPA in response to the post by Helliboy. We do need to get the industry to improve the way it treats people. Good pay is important, but for most, good health insurance has become a very big factor in deciding who to go to work for. There have been big gains in pilot pay in some areas, but it took unionizing to get it. It would be nice to see it happen without having to rely on unions to get advances in benifits. I also agree that we as pilots and mechanics have to be as professional as possible to show that we warrent the benifits we desire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vertrefadmin Posted February 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2006 How is the helicopter mechanic job market? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hotrodturbo7 Posted July 3, 2007 Report Share Posted July 3, 2007 In reference to the heli-mechanic question, down here at UShelicopter/bellaero, we cannot find enough mechs to fill our slots. We are also 10 min. from Mother Rucker, where AFS sucks up alot of mechs too. We are importing contractors from everywhere, also we are implementing an apprentice program for folks that might like the job, but don't want to dive into school just yet. So, i would say from my perspective, pretty good prospects. just my 2¢ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DayDreamer79 Posted February 11, 2008 Report Share Posted February 11, 2008 In reference to the heli-mechanic question, down here at UShelicopter/bellaero, we cannot find enough mechs to fill our slots. We are also 10 min. from Mother Rucker, where AFS sucks up alot of mechs too. We are importing contractors from everywhere, also we are implementing an apprentice program for folks that might like the job, but don't want to dive into school just yet. So, i would say from my perspective, pretty good prospects. just my 2¢ Hmm! That doesnt sound good at all for me. Im from South Africa. i spoke to a CFI and asked him about the "dangers" of flying in what is thought said to be the unstable parts of Africa. the big thing is that there aren't enough or suitably qualified mech's around. Is this true, can someone confirm this for me how big a problem it is. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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