LONDON – With staff shortages continuing to be an issue in the UK, will easyJet’s Over-45s recruitment drive even work and bridge the gap that the airline is facing?

The carrier launched its campaign earlier this week with the aim of filling roles in the tight jobs market of the UK, which has been exacerbated by BREXIT.

Following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, immigration has taken a nose dive, and the problem was made worse through COVID due to thousands of workers taking early retirement or leaving the labor market.

Is This Going to Work?: Salary

There is quite a key outlier in how this drive may not work. And that is the salary for over 45-year-olds.

From what you can see in the image above from Occam Investing, we can see that salaries for those in the 40-49-year-old age bracket are around £33,477 per year.

For 50-59, this is at £31,358 per year, and for 60+, this is at £27,508 per year.

And the reason why this could be a problem is because of the average salary of an easyJet flight attendant based in the United Kingdom.

According to data from Indeed, the pay of an average flight attendant at the carrier is around £22,118.

Whilst this is seven percent above the national average, it wouldn’t necessarily touch the surface for those in the ONS-driven data about average salary by age.

Is This Going To Work?: External Factors…

Another area to consider is what the United Kingdom has gone through in the last few years.

The COVID-19 pandemic has particularly changed the arena around what candidates are looking for in a job and whether they want something from the comfort of their home or whether they want something more hands-on.

In a survey released by VOXEU via CEPR, over 40% of those who had to work from home when the first lockdown was announced in the UK preferred to do this rather than work in an office or other working environment.

The question that may roll through your head is this: What does this have to do with being a flight attendant at easyJet?

Well, the answer is this: Working from home has changed the way people want to work, especially with the flexibility that it offers. The operational hours that flight attendants can work are quite demanding at some airlines.

You also have the chance to be away from home. And yes, whilst you may be in a nice country, it doesn’t give you the flexibility that working from home gives you.

Overall Thoughts…

The climate of the UK labor market has changed drastically during BREXIT and the COVID-19 pandemic. This, of course, has caused easyJet to push this sort of recruitment drive.

That being said; however, median salaries for those age groups don’t really correlate with the salary of a flight attendant, and if anything, could deter people in those age brackets from not applying.

However, with a global recession looming and potential job cuts on the way in other sectors, this could very well be the case of having the security of a job rather than not having one at all.