The National Academies Press

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From page 17... ... 2-1 Chapter 2: Attracting New Talent Attracting new talent is vital to the long-term success and sustainability of airports as they face a high volume of potential retirements, evolving requirements in mission-critical occupations, and competition from other industries. By promoting greater awareness of airport job opportunities, building a diverse talent pipeline, and casting a wider net for talent, airports can help cultivate the future skilled workforce that it will need to confront technological, demographic, operational, and regulatory changes. Read the entire page →
From page 18... ... 2-2 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Finally, the chapter concludes with three case studies that demonstrate how airports have successfully implemented strategies to address the challenge of attracting new talent. Description of the Workforce Capacity Challenge Airports are challenged in attracting new talent due to a range of labor market forces that are seemingly stacked against them. Read the entire page →
From page 19... ... Attracting New Talent 2-3 3. Embrace a far-reaching strategy to attract new talent. Read the entire page →
From page 20... ... 2-4 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Read the entire page →
From page 21... ... Attracting New Talent 2-5 Action Plans for Attracting New Talent This section includes four action plans airports may use for improving how they attract new talent to their organization. Information on strategy, implementation steps, resource requirements, and alternate approaches is included in each action plan. Read the entire page →
From page 22... ... 2-6 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Description. As technology becomes integral to more airport systems, data analysis becomes more critical to decision-making, and innovation becomes more vital to success, airports may find they need to attract a very different workforce than in the past. Read the entire page →
From page 23... ... Attracting New Talent 2-7 Pro Tip Featuring real life stories on the web of successful employees who have grown and developed in their careers at the airport can help communicate the employer brand to potential and new employees. K-12 Comm College 4-Year College Graduate School Early Career Mid-Career Late Career Retirees Other Key Stakeholders • Airport senior leadership • Communications staff Action Plan Lead(s) Read the entire page →
From page 24... ... 2-8 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity 1. Develop internal communications to explain the "employer brand" concept. Read the entire page →
From page 25... ... Attracting New Talent 2-9 Obstacles & Considerations Key Success Factors • Requesting employee input early and often. • Promoting employer brand with community and government leaders and industry organizations to generate buzz. Read the entire page →
From page 26... ... 2-10 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Pro Tip ACI-NA allows airports to post their internship opportunities on the ACI-NA website so the opportunities can be easily located by students across the country. Description. Read the entire page →
From page 27... ... Attracting New Talent 2-11 K-12 Comm College 4-Year College Graduate School Early Career Mid-Career Late Career Retirees Apprenticeship programs fulfill a similar function to internships, but are typically developed for skilled trade jobs like construction, maintenance, electrical repair, and IT maintenance. Read the entire page →
From page 28... ... 2-12 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Implementation Lead(s) • HR/Training director or designee Estimated Time to Implement 0-3 months 3-6 months 7 months - 1 year More than 1 year Key Stakeholder(s) Read the entire page →
From page 29... ... Attracting New Talent 2-13 1. Conduct needs assessment. Read the entire page →
From page 30... ... 2-14 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Action Plan 2 Cont'd: Develop Internships and Apprenticeships Sustain Quantifiable Outcomes/Measures of Impact 1. Number of interns/apprentices applied and accepted per year 2. Read the entire page →
From page 31... ... Attracting New Talent 2-15 Overview of Strategic Recommendation Real-World Examples • Several airports currently offer the Edge4Vets program, which aims to connect veterans with jobs at the airport or with local community partners. • The program consists of two workshops that help veterans talk about their military skills in a way that resonates with a civilian audience and provides mentors to give constructive feedback on the job search process. Read the entire page →
From page 32... ... 2-16 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity K-12 Comm College 4-Year College Graduate School Early Career Mid-Career Late Career Retirees Other Key Stakeholders • Nontraditional candidates (e.g., retirees, veterans, stay-at-home parents) • Professional and community associations • Local employers Action Plan Lead(s) Read the entire page →
From page 33... ... Attracting New Talent 2-17 Implementation Lead(s) • Agency HR director • HR personnel • Communications and marketing team 1. Read the entire page →
From page 34... ... 2-18 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity • Tailor marketing and recruitment materials to increase interest among target populations. Highlight airport's ability to accommodate specific groups. Read the entire page →
From page 35... ... Attracting New Talent 2-19 In addition to focusing on talent sources that are most likely to produce candidates with relevant skills, it is helpful to focus on industries or markets where workers are more likely to be seeking new employment. For example, across industries, there are frequently ebbs and flows in terms of industry demand. Read the entire page →
From page 36... ... 2-20 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity K-12 Comm College 4-Year College Graduate School Early Career Mid-Career Late Career Retirees Example" presented here, teaming up with other airports, agencies, or regional organizations is another way to reach new audiences. Partnerships to promote broader outreach can be used in conjunction with cross-industry recruitment to create a robust recruitment strategy for airport jobs. Read the entire page →
From page 37... ... Attracting New Talent 2-21 Other Key Stakeholders • Airport senior leadership • Data analysts to review employment numbers and industrial profiles Action Plan Lead(s) • HR personnel or steering committee • Hiring managers Resources Needed: • Staff or consultant to identify key jobs and links to other industries • Access to data regarding employment numbers in the local area • Industry profiles including information on employment numbers Implementation Lead(s) Read the entire page →
From page 38... ... 2-22 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity 1. Determine which mission-critical jobs do not require previous airport experience. Read the entire page →
From page 39... ... Attracting New Talent 2-23 Action Plan 4 Cont'd: Recruit Airport Employees from Other Industries Sustain Quantifiable Outcomes/Measures of Impact 1. Number of qualified applicants for key airport jobs 2. Read the entire page →
From page 40... ... 2-24 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Practical Tools and Resources for Attracting New Talent Tools and Resources Action Plan Page Employer Branding Discussion Guide Develop an Employer Brand 2-28 Internship Program Development Checklist Develop Internships and Apprenticeships 2-30 Guide to Public Resources to Recruit Employees from Other Industries Recruit Airport Employees from Other Industries 2-33 The three tools and resources are described here, followed by the links to additional resources and the newly created tools and resources. Employer Branding Discussion Guide • This tool applies to Action Plan 1: Develop an Employer Brand • The tool can be used to interview employees about what aspects of their experiences at the airport should be reflected in the employer brand. Read the entire page →
From page 41... ... Attracting New Talent 2-25 o Use O* NET to select jobs or industries where employees would have relevant skills o Use Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Read the entire page →
From page 42... ... 2-26 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Action Plan 2: Develop Internships and Apprenticeships Source Resource Description and Link National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) 15 Best Practices for Internship Programs NACE shares simple best practices that any organization should consider when developing their own internship programs in order to appeal to applicants and effectively manage the program. Read the entire page →
From page 43... ... Attracting New Talent 2-27 Action Plan 4: Recruit Airport Employees from Other Industries Source Resource Description and Link ACRP ACRP WebOnly Document 28 This ACRP resource, which also provided the foundation for this Guidebook, has helpful information for those planning to recruit from other industries, including data on employment trends in various industries, as well as data on occupations that are in high or low demand in each state. The data can help airports develop a strategy for what industries to recruit from and where to focus their efforts. Read the entire page →
From page 44... ... 2-28 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Purpose and Overview When developing an employer brand, it is helpful to engage current employees to understand common aspects of the employee experience and learn what they value about working for the airport. Their perspectives can then be reflected in the airport's employee value proposition (EVP) Read the entire page →
From page 45... ... Attracting New Talent 2-29 Employee Values and Goals 5. What are the most important factors for you when choosing where to work? Read the entire page →
From page 46... ... 2-30 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Purpose and Overview This tool is designed to help airports better understand the steps involved in developing, implementing, and monitoring the effectiveness of internship programs. It primarily consists of discrete tasks that can be checked off as airports develop their programs, but it also includes questions to consider and tips that may be helpful at various points in the process. Read the entire page →
From page 47... ... Attracting New Talent 2-31 [ ] Identify supportive, enrichment elements to incorporate into the program such as periodic social events, developmental exercises, special projects, and job rotations that expose interns to multiple facets of the organization and to key leaders. Read the entire page →
From page 48... ... 2-32 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity 4. DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM Create Company Orientation [ ] Read the entire page →
From page 49... ... Attracting New Talent 2-33 Purpose and Overview This tool provides guidance regarding how to recruit employees from other industries and the resources available to support this strategy. This tool also identifies the current resources (e.g., websites) Read the entire page →
From page 50... ... 2-34 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Read the entire page →
From page 51... ... Attracting New Talent 2-35 Note: The dark grey box is the same as the box shown in 3a; the intent of this figure in 3b is to show what is featured when any particular KSA is selected on the screen shown in 3a. Read the entire page →
From page 52... ... 2-36 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Read the entire page →
From page 53... ... Attracting New Talent 2-37 Using BLS Data to Explore Shrinking Industries or Occupations When looking to recruit airport employees from other industry and occupational areas, the most success is achieved when other industries are not also seeking to employ employees with similar skills. As such, a focus on identifying shrinking occupations or industries can be beneficial in recruitment strategy. Read the entire page →
From page 54... ... 2-38 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Identifying Shrinking Occupations While airports may be able to target new employees at the industry level, it can also be beneficial to examine individual occupations to determine if there are any shrinking occupations that are related to airport MCOs in terms of skill requirements (see Step B) Read the entire page →
From page 55... ... Attracting New Talent 2-39 Read the entire page →
From page 56... ... 2-40 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Case Studies Related to Attracting New Talent The three case studies in the following table present examples of creative ways airports are implementing strategies to attract new talent: Case Studies Airport Characteristics Page Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Large, municipal 2-41 San Diego International Airport (SAN) Read the entire page →
From page 57... ... Attracting New Talent 2-41 Program: Recruiting Nontraditional Candidates Edge4Vets Summary of Strategy: The Edge4Vets program helps prepare veterans for civilian sector jobs by helping them identify their skills and participate in a workshop with mentors who are HR personnel and hiring managers. The pilot program conducted at LAX connected veterans with airport HR personnel in an all-day workshop that included facilitated assessments, exercises, and a networking lunch. Read the entire page →
From page 58... ... 2-42 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Program: Airport Career Experience (ACE) Internship Program Strategy in Action Summary of Strategy: SAN developed distinct internship opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. Read the entire page →
From page 59... ... Attracting New Talent 2-43 Case Study 3: Salina Regional Airport (SLN) , Salina, KS Summary of Strategy: Embedded Industry Field Labs are built into KSU's airport management classes to give students more real-world exposure to the industry. Read the entire page →
From page 60... ... 2-44 Guidebook on Building Airport Workforce Capacity Solutions Challenges Encountered • Lack of resources to dedicate to long-term workforce development strategies • Airport may not be located physically near program • Labs require minimal burden and cost from the airport • Labs can be conducted virtually Lessons Learned • Leadership buy-in is critical for program success • Students may need additional coaching during initial labs, as they present a new way of learning with different expectations in comparison to traditional coursework Read the entire page →

From page 17...

... 2-1 Chapter 2: Attracting New Talent Attracting new talent is vital to the long-term success and sustainability of airports as they face a high volume of potential retirements, evolving requirements in mission-critical occupations, and competition from other industries. By promoting greater awareness of airport job opportunities, building a diverse talent pipeline, and casting a wider net for talent, airports can help cultivate the future skilled workforce that it will need to confront technological, demographic, operational, and regulatory changes.