Qantas to hire thousands after COVID-19 cuts strain growth

But the recruitment drive failed to impress the Transport Workers Union who said Qantas’s “overzealous” redundancies in 2020 had caused irreputable damage.

“Qantas’ announcement to hire new pilots and cabin crew won’t replace the decades of experience lost when management used the cover of COVID to gut the workforce and pay people less to do the same jobs,” the union said.

Qantas said it would soon need to add 200 new engineers to its operations every year, a number that exceeds the current national supply. A fully licensed aviation engineer typically takes a minimum of five years of practical and classroom training.

The federal secretary of the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association Steve Purvinas said the academy was desperately needed as the lack of aviation engineers in Australia has become critical.

“A significant percentage of our workforce accepted redundancy packages in COVID-19. It has left a gaping labour hole and one that can’t be remedied overnight. The academy is desperately needed, without it there won’t be enough people to fix aircraft,” Purvinas said.

The licenced engineers union called on the federal government to work with airlines to provide assistance to applicants to make sure enough recruits apply each year. Qantas offered all licenced engineers above the age of 58 voluntary redundancy packages during the pandemic. The bulk of Australian aviation engineers are above the age of 50.

“ If trainees are required to pay their own way the academy will not get enough applicants. In the 1980s we had well over 250 first year apprentices every year but this number has dwindled as time has gone on” he said.

The Australian Workers Union also welcomed the decision, and described it as a potential turning point for Australian technical jobs.

“I call on other major Australian employers to take this as a sign of turning tide and to start making their own plans to invest strongly in Australian apprenticeships and Australian skills,” Walton said.

In February, the airline approached former flight attendants who took voluntary redundancies or resigned during the COVID-19 pandemic to rejoin.

The airline said it would work with unions to finalise how the academy would operate, including how it may work with existing apprenticeship programs run by Qantas and Jetstar.

Joyce recently credited a $1 billion restructure that it launched in the midst of the pandemic, which included outsourcing the 1700 ground handler jobs, as a driver of its return to profit. The group revealed a $1.4 billion profit for the six months to December, following $7 billion of losses accrued over the three years of COVID-19.

“When we restructured the business at the start of COVID, it was to make sure we could bounce back quickly when travel returned.”

Loading

Ahead of the group’s results, Joyce unveiled a $100 million investment to transform its lounge network over the next three years on Tuesday, including a new first-class lounge at London’s Heathrow Airport and a revamp of the international business-class lounges at Hong Kong, Sydney and Melbourne.

The airline announced in 2022 it had ordered and secured purchase rights for up to 299 narrow body and 12 wide body aircraft for delivery over the decade.

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.