Aviation sector needs human resources breakthrough Vietnam’s aviation sector needs a breakthrough in human resources, especially when airlines are expanding their fleets, launching new routes and preparing for their initial public offerings (IPO). The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has set the target that by 2020, the sector’s workforce will be able to meet all demands for pilots and requirements on management, exploitation and maintenance. Airlines revealed that the largest difficulty for them now is insufficient and weak human resources, forcing them to hire foreign employees at a much higher cost than the local ones. At present, except for the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines, all the airlines have to hire most of their pilots and engineers from abroad. The CAAV forecast that between now and 2020, the aviation sector needs 6,000 additional employees each year. Human resources pose a difficult problem for the sector, which requires special professional standards and services, said Nguyen Duc Tam, Deputy General Director of the budget carrier VietJet Air. In fact, aviation human resources are yet to meet requirements as training establishments remain in shortage, he noted. Sharing Tam’s view, Director of Jetstar Northern Office Duong Hoai Nam said that most university graduates cannot meet the sector’s requirements immediately and it costs the airlines more money and time to train new recruits. Another reason behind the human resource shortage is the pressure on airlines to increase profit. On the other hand, ineffective State management and supervision of human resources development does little to solve the problem. In a bid to address the human resource issue, the Ministry of Transport has entrusted the CAAV in collaboration with the Vietnam Aviation Academy to train aviation human resources, considering it a breakthrough in the aviation transport development strategy by 2020. According to the CAAV, Vietnam’s aviation market has rapidly developed in recent years, with domestic routes increasing from 31 in 2009 to 42 in 2013 and international routes expanding to 53 last year. The sector transported more than 175 million passengers and 3.1 million tonnes of cargo during the 2009-2013 period, representing annual growth rates of nearly 17 percent and 12.7 percent, respectively. The domestic airlines’ fleets have continuously expanded with a total of 99 modern aircraft. Of which, Vietnam Airlines holds the largest number of 81 planes, followed by VietJet Air with 11, and Jetstar Pacific with seven. As many as 49 foreign airlines of 17 countries are operating on 71 international routes to Vietnam. VNA