ABSTRACT
In an era when the aviation industry is experiencing unprecedented growth and facing significant shortages in the workforce worldwide, recruiting the next generation of aviation professionals remains an activity of highest priority. An essential component of recruitment efforts is outreach. The chapter will focus on outreach in aviation in an effort to enhance recruitment of the next generation of aviation professionals. The chapter presents a model of aviation outreach (Lutte, 2018). It highlights current outreach programs in aviation in the U.S. and internationally. Highlighted programs include those targeting underrepresented groups to enhance diversity in aviation, programs targeting emerging markets, and secondary school efforts. The chapter includes a checklist for essential elements of an outreach program to provide a practical means to apply the outreach model presented to real-world efforts. The overall goal of the chapter is to provide an understanding of current aviation outreach efforts and provide tools for establishing new outreach programs or reviewing current programs in regard to critical elements based on best practices.
