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14 May, 2007
Ethiopian Airlines is recruiting 113 aircraft technicians from the Ethiopian Air Force and Dejen Aviation Maintenance and Engineering School of the Ministry of Defense.
In a written response to The Reporter, the management of Ethiopian said ever since its inception Ethiopian Airlines had recruited many pilots and aircraft technicians from the Air Force based on its specific qualifications and criteria. The management said the current recruitment process of aircraft technicians from the Air Force was a continuation of historical practice.
"In addition to the Air Force, some technicians are being recruited from Dejen Aviation Maintenance and Engineering. We have 113 applicants in the screening process. 61 of them have passed the written exams and will be interviewed soon. Those who qualify will be accepted in the apprenticeship program for a year," the management said. Then, based on their job performance the competent technicians will be hired either on permanent or a contractual employment basis depending on the individuals specific conditions and agreement. Currently Ethiopian has 772 aircraft technicians.
Most of the technicians who work for Ethiopian are dissatisfied with their salaries. Representatives of the technicians have repeatedly asked the management for salary adjustment. The technicians complain that their salary was minimal compared to their tiring job. They said that their salary was incomparable with what the international market offers. The starting salary of a junior technician is 1,250 birr (about 141 dollars).
The technicians told The Reporter that many senior technicians have left Ethiopian and joined foreign airlines in search of better payment. In the 2006-2007 fiscal years, 24 aircraft technicians had resigned. In the African Aviation Development Forum recently held in Addis Ababa, Girma Wake, Ethiopian CEO, said 21 Ethiopian aircraft technicians were approached by Middle Eastern Airlines.
In a written statement sent to The Reporter, the management of Ethiopian said some technicians have left Ethiopian in pursuit of better opportunities abroad, adding that this was not a unique situation to Ethiopian. "Like some other professions the technical profession is saleable in the international labor market and it is a very common trend in the African Aviation industry. Other African airlines also have a similar problem of skilled labor migration to the Middle East," the management said. Ethiopian aircraft technicians trained at Aviation Training Center of Ethiopian Airlines have commitment to serve the national flag carrier at least for five years.
The management of Ethiopian said that the hiring of aircraft technicians from the Air Force and Dejen Aviation Maintenance and Engineering is required to meet the ever increasing operational demand of the airline and customer aircraft maintenance work.
"The airline is growing very fast and expanding routes and hence there is an operational need for more technicians. We also have a growing demand to maintain other airlines' aircraft. These operational requirements can not be satisfied by the small number of graduates from our Aviation Maintenance Technicians School," the management said.
Aviation Maintenance Technicians School of Ethiopian was established in 1967. So far, the school graduated 2,236 technicians. Among the total graduates 1520 are Ethiopians and the rest, 716, are foreign nationals from 48 different countries mainly from Africa and the Middle East.
Currently, 139 trainees are taking theoretical and practical courses at the center. Among the trainees, 77 are Ethiopians, 38 Rwandese, 14 Malagasies, six Chadian, 2 Tanzanians, one Nigerian and one Sudanese. Ethiopian said it was striving to upgrade its Pilot Training School and Aviation Maintenance Technician Center to an African Aviation Academy.
By Kaleyesus Bekele - Ethiopian Reporter