Irish company Parc Aviation has positioned itself right at the heart of a booming Chinese aviation sector in severe need of pilots and experienced technicians
BUILDING ON the fact that English is the language of business, and having a local presence in Asia, are some of the things that Irish companies seeking opportunities in the continent can target, says Padraic Toolan, Beijing-based head of Parc Aviation, the world’s largest provider of aviation personnel solutions and technical support services.
China’s aviation sector is the fastest-growing major market in the world, and Parc Aviation decided to base an Irish expatriate in the Chinese capital to get critical face-to-face opportunities with the Chinese airlines. There is demand for thousands of new pilots every year to fly the Airbus and Boeings being bought in their hundreds by China’s carriers.
“As well as being the language of aviation, English is the language of business. We speak English as our primary language in Ireland, and Irish companies should be aware of this and capitalise on this,” says Toolan.
Headquartered in Dublin, Parc has bases in Shannon, Tokyo and Beijing. Originally a subsidiary of Aer Lingus, Parc provides aviation personnel on lease to airlines and aviation-support companies, and currently has more than 800 personnel contracted to 60 clients in 30 different countries.
In July 2008, Parc was bought by Oxford Aviation Academy (OAA).
“We are tremendously innovative in Ireland in the aviation business. We are the fifth largest out of 27 EU states in aviation. It’s with great pride that we can say in Ireland that we’ve been innovators in the sector,” he says.
Originally from Templeogue, Toolan worked as an accountant in Dublin in various sectors, including the clothing business and security, before joining Parc in April 2004.
He spent 16 months in the sales division, flying around to China, India and Brazil before moving to Parc’s new Tokyo office in 2006.
With many of the new business development opportunities focused on the booming Chinese aviation sector, he moved to Beijing in May 2008.
Aviation-sector rules require pilots flying internationally to have a good command of English, and globalisation means there are an increasing number of airports in China with dual language air traffic control, in English and Chinese, so Chinese pilots must learn English.
China is facing a massive shortfall in the number of pilots. According to the World Civil Aviation Resource Net, China will require more than 18,000 new pilots by 2015. The annual demand for qualified pilots will reach 2,500 to 3,000 during that time, but the number of commercial pilots graduating each year is well short of that figure.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has listed flight technical personnel atop its Urgently Needed Personnel list.
All of which offers a massive opportunity for Parc Aviation to provide pilots and crews. If you look at the number of deliveries Boeing and Airbus are making in China, in both the passenger and the freight sectors, it’s simple maths to work out the pilot and crew requirements – it’s not possible for the Chinese airlines to keep up with these deliveries.
There is also expected to be greater demand for technical staff, such as engineers and technicians, further down the line.
Like many expatriates, Toolan sees the negative news from Ireland but he remains positive on the overall prospects for his home country. “People should always be positive, the upturn always follows when people work hard. We recovered before – in 1958, 80,000 people left, but the following decade saw many years of economic growth in Ireland. And 1988 and 1989 saw an upturn after a bad decade. If people can do start-ups, it is a big help,” he says.
He cites the example of the Chinese students who go to Ireland and then come back home with great skill sets and make a big contribution.
“If that can happen in one direction, it should happen in the other direction too. If you are looking at Asia, then progress with that thought. There are more and more places in Ireland you can get advice from. Enterprise Ireland is a classic example,” says Toolan.
“It’s very rare that the experience you get is bad. The experience people bring back is good, and it will enhance their marketability in Ireland,” says Toolan.
While there are quite a number of differences between doing business in Ireland and in China, learning the importance of face-to-face contact is crucial.
“The face-to-face context is very important. I can send emails, but people want to see you, again and again, before they have the confidence. In some countries, you talk about visits over months but here it can take place over years,” says Toolan.
“You need to be very clear in your mindset. Being on the ground is very important,” he says. “If Irish companies can continue to see and go beyond borders, there are great opportunities. The companies have to not just look at a sector or a region, but look at the world.”