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Making airports attractive workplaces again: Perspective from the private aviation security services
Journal of Airport Management,
18
(3),
300-308
(2024)
Abstract
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.
Keywords: aviation security; security jobs; airport jobs; private security; aviation labour shortages; security skills
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Catherine Piana is the Director General of the Aviation Security Services Association – international (ASSA-i) since 2016, of the Confederation of European Security Services (CoESS) since 2014 and the Managing Director of Help2Protect since 2022 (e-learning platform on the Insider Threat). In this position, she is the spokesperson of the private security industry to the European Union (EU) and international institutions and stakeholders. She covers a wide range of subjects, including transport security, AI, insider threat, public–private partnerships, the protection of critical infrastructure and public spaces. A European lobbyist by profession, Catherine has been in a leadership position in several trade associations since 1997. A Belgian French-speaking national, she speaks six languages (English, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, German). Her academic background is in linguistics (Master’s in Translation Italian/English/French, ISTI-Université Libre de Bruxelles) completed by an MBA, certificates in terrorism and counter terrorism (Leiden University, NL, online) and in neurolinguistics. She is a certified coach and trainer. Her areas of focus in training include leadership and (inter)personal skills, public speaking and charisma, negotiation and influence.
