The largescale retrenchment of Jet Airways employees might have scared those looking for a career as cabin crew. But the manner in which international airlines continue to hire crew from India is something that might give them hope. Training institutes say that soft skills and the language advantage makes Indians good candidates for international airlines, especially those operating from the Middle East.
According to the different cabin crew training institutes in India, various international airlines are hiring crew from India in spite of the turbulence in the aviation sector globally. “The day when Jet employees were sacked, NAS airlines from Gulf advertised for vacancies in India. And Bahrain Air was interviewing people for 19 crew positions in Kochi,” says Rakesh Agarwal, managing director, Frankfinn Training Institute.
The tough times for the aviation industry in India started from June 2008 with the fuel price hike, the brunt of which had to be eventually borne by passengers. Even then, airlines like Emirates were looking for people. “Gulf carriers prefer Hindi speaking staff because a section of their target audience does not speak English,” says Sapna Gupta, founder and director of Air Hostess Academy.
Moreover, aviation academies believe that besides crew jobs, there are a host of other jobs available for candidates in hospitality, travel and tourism. And, as most of them are HSC-qualified, they can experiment with these options till they are hired by airlines. For instance, the minimum age for crew in international airlines is 21 years. A 19-year-old HSC graduate can work with a hotel or travel agency till he lands a job with an airlines.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
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