Popular NBAA-BACE Career Fair Returns to Connect Employers, Top Candidates

As business aviation continues to grapple with workforce shortage projections, the National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) will again host a Career Fair to connect companies and leading industry talent.

“Last year’s inaugural Career Fair exceeded our expectations,” said Jo Damato, CAM, senior vice president of education, training and workforce development at NBAA. “Some candidates even received job offers on-site.”

In an age of digital-first recruiting, the opportunity to connect in person with qualified job seekers can be rare – and incredibly valuable. This is especially true in business aviation, where in-person interactions are at the core of what member companies do, and where there are often skills gaps and job openings due to expanding operations or staff turnover.

While job seekers at all career levels are invited to attend the Career Fair, most attendees are already established and looking for their next career opportunity. These are exactly the candidates recruiters are looking for to populate the pipeline with new talent as industry veterans begin to retire.

To participate, prospective employers – who must be NBAA members – can choose between three packages, all of which include an ad in the Career Fair Recruitment Guide, as well as the ability to post jobs and access resumes at the NBAA Career Center.

“We expect a couple of hundred job seekers to attend this year’s Career Fair, so this is a big opportunity. To get the most out of it, we recommend that employers send experienced recruiters rather than relying on their people who are already attending NBAA-BACE,” added Damato.

Employers who took part last year said the experience was invaluable.  

“With the significant growth of our worldwide service center network and the increasing demand in business aviation, we have dozens of aircraft technicians’ roles to fill across the United States,” said Bombardier Senior Director, Workforce Planning and Talent Acquisition Cynthia Giguère. “The talent and passion of our employees are what set Bombardier apart, and we were pleased with the quality of candidates that we met at last year’s NBAA Career Fair. We look forward to making the acquaintance of more people who want to grow with us and help service our industry-leading jets at the 2024 fair.”

Makenzie Kalkowski, Garmin Aviation technical recruiter, echoed that sentiment, “Garmin Aviation HR’s presence at the NBAA Career Fair provided a valuable opportunity to connect with top industry talent, including next-generation aviation professionals. The process was smooth from beginning to end, and engaging directly with candidates allowed us to showcase Garmin’s innovative aviation work environment and career opportunities, ensuring we attract the best talent in the industry. It also facilitated valuable connections with other aviation employers, fostering discussions on how we can collectively improve our practices as industry leaders.”

Learn more about the NBAA-BACE Career Fair.

NBAA-BACE, taking place Oct. 22-24 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Henderson Executive Airport (HND), is the world’s most powerful business aviation event of the year. Learn more about NBAA-BACE.