Etihad Airways discusses best practice to sourcing talent at Aviation Talent Summit

Etihad Airways joined airline HR and talent acquisition executives from around the world to discuss best practice in sourcing and attracting aviation professionals at the Global Aviation Talent Summit in Abu Dhabi.

Hosted by cut-e, in partnership with Etihad Airways, the summit gathered more than a hundred airline human resources, recruitment and security executives from more than 20 airlines to discuss issues and innovation in the area of aviation recruitment and retention. 

Professionals discussed best practices in assessments for screening, talent selection and development methodologies, the latest online recruitment systems and assessment tools, benchmarking, and improvements in the quality of recruitment practices. 

Mona Walid, Etihad Airways' vice president of Talent Acquisition, said: “The aviation industry is unique as it requires a great variety of talent to operate – cabin crew, pilots, engineers, marketeers, lawyers, caterers, load controllers, network planners, revenue managers, social media managers and more. This diverse range of roles, coupled with the fact that Etihad Airways receives more than 250,000 applications each year, means that we need modern, transparent, time-efficient and simple recruitment solutions. 

“I look forward to making this an annual event, providing a platform to continue to address our common challenges in sourcing talent from across the globe.” 

Executives also attended sessions on risk management in hiring, succession planning, and talent pipelining. 

Mohamed Hegab, Etihad Airways’ Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition, spoke at the summit about Etihad Airways’ journey to best-in-class recruitment through a combination of leading technology from SAP’s SuccessFactors, which is integrated with cut-e’s psychometric assessment solutions, and simplified processes. 

David Barrett, chief operating Officer, cut-e, said: “Cut-e is delighted to be working with Etihad Airways for the last four years on the design and implementation of assessment methods and systems for the selection and development of its people. Today is a landmark day in our relationship where we have collaborated to bring 20 airlines to Abu Dhabi for a two-day Global Aviation Talent Summit. The summit brings together experts and airline counterparts to share ideas and best practices on all aspects of HR including screening, selection and development of flight operations and business staff within the aviation sector. 

“Delegates from as far as Canada, Hong Kong and Finland were especially excited to visit the Etihad Airways Innovation Centre to see the airline’s groundbreaking products and services first-hand – the tour has been one of the highlights of our gathering.”