All in one blog!
#1 Liege Airport, 1 new job a day
?We are living through momentous times.
For a planet with limited resources, for the economy, and for our quality of life. This has led to heated and valid debates concerning the strategic route to take for our future and that of our children.
?As a leading logistics hub in Europe and the world, Liege Airport is directly involved with and affected by these issues, which consistently place economic growth and sustainable development at odds. This is a complex and perpetual challenge.
?In this blog, I aim to shed some light on the subject, in the most factual way possible, by exploring these issues as well as the prospects that Liege Airport brings to the region.
?This first article is focused on employment and training, two invaluable assets for our region.
?Liege Airport, 1 new job a day
Thanks to the development of its logistics, Liege Airport generates 400 new jobs each year. Today, 10,000 direct and indirect jobs (according to ULiege data) are created by airport activity. 91% of the positions come from the private sector, and over 80% are filled by “locals”.
?Aries carried out an impact assessment to evaluate the creation of jobs linked to the airport ecosystem. Their estimate: 30,000 by 2043.
As @GaspardGrosjean has highlighted (27/6/22 La Meuse editorial): The observation in the latest ULiège study is irrefutable: these are quality jobs, with many full-time and permanent contracts. Two factors which cannot be ignored nowadays.
Liege Airport, a blend of skilled and unskilled jobs
Following the decline of industrial areas, Liege Airport’s shareholders (Province de Liège, Wallonia, and Aéroports de Paris), wanted to tackle the issue of unemployment among young people with little or no qualifications.
Liege Airport is one of Wallonia’s economic partners. Wallonia has also invested the biotech, innovation, and digital sectors, to name a few. This diversification approach has begun to bear fruit, with notable successes such as Odoo, Icare, John Cockerill, and many more.
It is vital to continue developing these partners, to strengthen them and to help them diversify. We must maintain this strategy, which enables the creation of different types of jobs which require different types of qualifications and candidates (scientific research, transport, logistics).
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Within the next few years, Liege Airport’s socio-economic development will focus on logistical activities, though not exclusively. As well as hosting logistical activities, economic activity zones will also host offices and services. Wallonia has continuously invested in the infrastructure surrounding the airport. The latest project was unveiled this summer thanks to a 33.345 million euros investment from FEDER funds (2014-2020) for the airport’s northern bypass, redevelopment of the interchange, and access to the E40.
Thanks to this diversification of activities, Liege Airport, Liège ecosystem stakeholders, and Wallonia are currently developing a variety of logistical activities and offices (Masterplan Business Park), within the framework of economic specialisation developed around the airport, while avoiding competing with the offices developing down-town.
Liege Airport, an opportunity for improving skills
For a section of the on-site workforce, particularly those without qualifications, Liege Airport represents a real opportunity to develop skills.
Our development projects are transforming transport and storage jobs. The projects require a higher skill level on the part of their operators, across all qualification levels.
Storage jobs, for instance, are evolving more and more towards maintenance, surveillance, and robot operation roles. Both recruiting more technical candidates and providing professional training for current employees are now key methods to answer a part of the field’s labour needs.
Wallonia is recognised for its logistical know-how. This is a treasure trove of specialised talent (HEC Liege, Saint Laurent, Forem Logistique, etc.).
On top of state-of-the-art training and education in research (universities) and logistics (HEC Liege), this year has also seen the creation of specialised training courses for aviation jobs through the Liege Airport Academy.
Employment and climate issues are true challenges for society, and the aviation sector is tackling them head-on. These challenges ask the question of what type of society we wish to protect.
As Gaspard Grosjean states: Giving people the option to have a job that allows them to provide for themselves and their family is something we all strive towards, in politics as well as in the socio-economic world, business and labour. (La Meuse, 27/6/2022)
However, Liege Airport is not indifferent to the need to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and the noise pollution caused by aeroplanes, through any means necessary and as soon as possible.
As CEO of Liege Airport, I will continue the conversation with all relevant parties. To achieve realistic and long-lasting solutions. To protect our environment. And to improve the quality of life of not only the citizens living in the Liège Hinterland, but also of the 10,000 workers in our airport ecosystem.