Making airports attractive workplaces again: Perspective from the private aviation security services

Why is it so difficult to find the right people to work in aviation security jobs and retain them, especially post-COVID-19? And how can we make these jobs attractive (again)? While this paper focuses on security screeners, most of the points can be extrapolated to aviation security staff, and airport staff in general. This paper takes the view that most of the reasons why we are facing staff shortages in airports were already present before the pandemic but were accelerated and amplified by it, with an additional worsening factor due to the unexpectedly quick and steep restart in passenger flights. It discusses the ‘old’ mindset and the fact that it cannot continue to prevail and should be replaced by a more positive, quality-oriented, human-centric one. To substantiate these opinions, the paper uses the findings of a European Union (EU)-funded project on skills and labour shortages intelligence (the INTEL project1) led by the Private Security Social Partners, illustrated by three business cases and various sources of information on best practice in attracting the younger generation.