JMC Aviation Commercial Director Zak Milsom
Zak Milsom was appointed commercial director at aviation recruitment and engineering services provider JMC Aviation in September. He spoke with Aviation Week Network about JMC’s strategies for meeting the MRO industry’s labor shortage challenges and how the company is using technologies for better efficiencies.
What are your key priorities as the new commercial director?
Coming into this role my number one priority has been to strengthen JMC Aviation’s position as a global provider of engineering solutions. We are uniquely positioned to understand the changing face of the market, particularly in relation to bridging the widening skills gap we’re seeing within the engineering sector. It’s my job to ensure we’re utilizing this experience to offer workable recruitment solutions to both new and existing clients, all designed to help meet the staffing challenges they are invariably facing. For example, we are expanding the scope of our ‘fixed price’ packages, in which we supply and manage a team of engineers to work on a wide range of tasks that companies may not have the internal manpower to address.
Elsewhere, we’re continuing to roll out our Global Engineering Workforce, a unique program we have developed to identify the best talent from around the world, who are then mobilized within our existing teams to deliver engineering solutions to our clients. I will also be working with the team to expand our presence in North America, delivering our extensive recruitment solutions to our growing client base there.
How will JMC replicate its success in the UK elsewhere?
We have been facing a stark talent shortage across the UK and Europe. In particular, we’re seeing minimal licensed aircraft engineering talent available, which is having a significant impact on a large number of businesses. This is why the Global Engineering Workforce program is so important—there are places around the world where the skilled workforce exists, but without the industry to support them. These are potential employees looking for work, who simply need a way to get to where the jobs are. This is what JMC Aviation is now able to actively facilitate. The program has allowed us to meet the demands of our clients around the UK and Europe where our competitors have not.
With global talent shortages increasing, this model is being continuously reviewed, revised and improved, and is certainly something we are looking to replicate further afield, utilizing our increasing footprint in markets like North America to do so.
How are technical advances changing how you plan engineering activities?
The technical advances in the industry are both a challenge and an opportunity. While we are required to ensure our delivery teams can continually rise to these new challenges by learning new skills and solving new problems, it also poses a brilliant opportunity to leverage new technologies—software, IT infrastructure or artificial intelligence, for example—to deliver results to our clients faster, with more efficiency and greater accuracy than ever before.
The key areas in which we can maximize the impact of new technology are through training, compliance and currency tracking, utilizing cloud-based software like the ELMS Solution to ensure our clients have a digital overview of every employee. This helps to remove antiquated paper-based systems and provide an instantly accessible way of tracking employee qualifications, training and experience to deliver clear and defined staff development and succession pathways.
As the industry moves toward a more digital future, as a recruiter we must remain at the forefront of that technology to ensure the staff we supply and the engineering solutions we present our clients seamlessly integrate with their operations, helping to increase efficiencies while maintaining the utmost safety standards.
You mentioned that JMC has expanded its fixed price packages into North America. What do these entail?
Our fixed price packages are a bespoke method of performing aircraft maintenance and repairs, allowing our clients to budget and plan routine maintenance events accurately. For unplanned AOG events, our clients draw on the expertise of the fixed price team to assist with the return of the aircraft to service, being able to forecast exactly when the repairs will be completed. Utilizing technical details (repair drawings, modifications, service bulletins) provided by the customer, our team is able to formulate a fixed price quote which covers all elements, including project duration, team composition and cost. The projects are managed in conjunction with the clients throughout the duration to ensure on time, high quality delivery.
What measures are you implementing to beef up technical expertise in the market?
In the UK, the aviation industry is booming, but this success requires more engineering talent than is currently available. If UK-based airlines, MROs and associated businesses don’t fill those gaps they risk having to shut up shop or move to where the right staff are available. This is why we’re utilizing our experience and expertise to find alternative solutions. Most recently, this has involved reviewing our candidate sources to ensure we are tapping into the full potential of the market, utilizing global skills and expertise—whether from emerging nations or global leaders in aviation, we are hiring from every corner to ensure that best practice across the industry is utilized.
Partnering with a carefully selected network of organizations from around the world, we’re able to routinely access the required talent our clients are looking for from some of the most promising international aviation programs. Recruiting internationally allows these engineers to gain valuable experience in different working conditions and environments, which they can take back home when they choose to return. At the same time, UK engineers get the opportunity to work with and learn from skilled peers from around the world, helping to build dynamic, multicultural businesses.
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