By David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen September 11, 2011
The air force is not training enough pilots to meet its demands while at the same time it faces a wave of retirements as well as the recruiting of skilled staff by airlines.
Lt.-Gen. André Deschamps, the head of the air force, has told Vice Admiral Bruce Donaldson, the vice chief of the defence staff, that he cannot produce the 125 new pilots he needs each year, according to documents leaked to the Citizen.
To fill part of the gap, the air force is asking its retired pilots to rejoin the service. So far this year, a dozen retirees have re-enlisted.
Deschamps told Donaldson he expects to reach his target of 125 pilot graduates in the next fiscal year, ending in the spring of 2013.
But defence insiders are questioning whether that will happen and point out that the problem with producing enough trained pilots has been going on for years.
"The air force acknowledges the need for more trained pilots and is working hard to invest in the appropriate resources to meet its personnel requirements," spokeswoman Maj. Sonia Dumouchel Connock stated in an e-mail.
She noted that the air force intends to increase pilot production to meet present and future requirements for positions across the Canadian Forces. At the same time, the air force is trying to entice retirees to return to the service.
Dumouchel Connock pointed out that there have been significant enhancements to the Canadian Forces pay and benefits package over the past few years, adding that some former service members miss the excitement and opportunities of military life.
"The principal challenge with personnel attrition is the fact that the air force is losing its cohort of Baby Boomers who are reaching the end of their career," she explained. "It is a regular occurrence for civilian industry to recruit members of the Canadian Forces who are extremely well trained and have received a wide variety of experiences to support their business ventures."
Air Canada has recently embarked on a hiring spree to replenish the ranks of its pilots. The airline estimates that between 2009 and 2013 about 20 per cent of its 3,000 pilots will retire.
So far this year it has hired 48 new pilots.
But defence insiders point out that the main problem lies with the air force's training system. Young pilots have to wait lengthy periods before they can get training time on aircraft and some become discouraged, eventually leaving the military.
Dumouchel Connock said the air force is looking to improve its training by tailoring instruction to operational needs and increasing the use of simulators.
In addition, in the coming months the air force will alter its pilot selection methods to identify those candidates most likely to succeed in training.
"In other words, a better baseline candidate is more likely to pass pilot training and is more likely to be a better pilot in the end," noted Dumouchel Connock. "This will allow us to better select the right people for the organization."
The air force has also had difficulties attracting personnel to other aviation jobs.
Earlier this year, the Citizen reported that the service was launching a drive to find more flight engineers for search-and-rescue helicopters as it struggled to fill those ranks decimated by retirements and recruitment of highly trained staff by private firms.
The exodus of flight engineers has been building over the last several years, with a 2010 air force report warning that such personnel levels were "dangerously low."
That situation could become even worse as over 60 per cent of the air force's flight engineers are now in a position to retire with pensions, air force officers have warned.
Flight engineers play a critical role on the helicopters, operating the rescue hoist, helping guide the aircraft as it maneuvers in confined areas, and performing the job of an in-flight mechanic.
A Canadian Forces "Tiger Team" report in April 2010 highlighted the problems, noting there were only 12 operational flight engineers available to support the search and rescue mandate for the main search and rescue (SAR) units.
"The next five years, and the next twelve months particularly, will prove exceptionally difficult if nothing is done to preserve our core capability to deliver SAR services to the Canadian public," the team warned. "Recruiting has been deficient and must be improved," it added.
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