The Middle East’s Aviation Growth Needing Stronger Technical Workforce with Mahdi Al Tahaineh of ATS
By Mahdi Suliman Al Tahaineh, CEO of ATS Group aviation group
An airline planning to add aircraft also needs to know who will maintain them. For the businesses supporting it, the answer involves recruitment, training and enough experienced staff to supervise the work.
Those preparations take time. A new employee may need training on a particular aircraft type, familiarity with the organisation’s procedures and supervised practical experience before taking on the full responsibilities of a role.
I believe workforce planning needs to start earlier in the region’s aviation expansion plans. It should be possible to explain how the technical team will develop alongside the fleet, with a budget and a timetable for doing so.
Headcount is only the starting point
Boeing’s 2025 Pilot and Technician Outlook projected demand for 63,000 new maintenance technicians in the Middle East between 2025 and 2044. That is a twenty-year forecast of new personnel demand, not a count of existing vacancies.
For an employer, the immediate questions are more detailed. Which aircraft will the team support? What work will be carried out at each location? How much supervision will new staff need, and who has time to provide it?
A recruitment target on its own does not answer those questions. A business can increase its headcount while still lacking experience in a particular aircraft type or function. Workforce plans need to identify those gaps before they affect the operation.
Give training a place in the working week
A trainee needs time to work through a task, consult the relevant documentation and ask questions. The experienced colleague supervising them needs time for that too.
Employers should account for this when planning workloads. If training is continually fitted around other demands, people may get fewer opportunities to develop than either they or the business expected.
Closer relationships with training providers can also help. Employers can explain the roles they need to fill and offer supervised exposure to the work. Students benefit from seeing how their studies relate to maintenance planning, technical records and the procedures followed in an operating business.
It is worth showing that range of roles early. Aviation needs people who understand component supply and quality assurance as well as those working directly on aircraft. Young people considering the industry should be able to see where those careers could lead.
Retaining experienced colleagues
New recruits depend on the knowledge already in a team. Losing an experienced colleague can therefore affect both current work and the development of less experienced staff.
Pay matters, but employers should also look at progression, access to further training and whether workloads are sustainable. People need a reasonable sense of how they can develop without having to leave the organisation.
Knowledge transfer needs deliberate attention. Written procedures are essential, and working alongside an experienced colleague helps a newer employee understand how to apply them. Making room for those conversations is part of managing a technical team.
Teach the handovers as well as the task
Maintenance work involves people across shifts and organisations. Someone has to explain what has been completed, what remains outstanding and what information the next person needs.
Training should prepare people for those exchanges. A parts specialist needs an accurate request; a planner needs a reliable availability update. Engineers and flight crews need clear information about the status of the work. Each person should understand how their information will be used by the next team.
For employers preparing to expand, I would start with a practical review of the skills already available and the gaps expected over the next few years. From there, recruitment, training and supervision can be planned together. Doing that early gives existing staff time to prepare and new colleagues a better chance to become confident in their work.
About the Author – Mahdi Al Tahaineh
Mahdi Al Tahaineh is an accomplished aerospace engineer and aviation executive with over 30 years of experience in the global aviation industry. As Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ATS Group, he has led the organisation’s strategic growth since 2003, establishing an international presence across the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa, with headquarters in Jordan and the UAE.
Under his leadership, ATS Group has evolved into a diversified international organisation employing over 200 professionals, delivering integrated aviation solutions spanning aircraft components, leasing, trading, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), and business aviation services. The group’s portfolio also includes ATS Technic, ATS Medical and ATS Best Food. Drawing on his extensive background in senior engineering and airline maintenance roles, Mahdi continues to drive the group’s international expansion, operational excellence and long-term strategic partnerships.
