Though the civil aviation industry has created large numbers of high salary jobs, stakeholders within the industry are not doing enough to address their problems of human resources requirements, say experts.

Except a handful of private educational entrepreneurs, many of them possibly fly-by-night types, airlines and their related industry bodies are simply not doing enough to train the people they so badly need. Most of them opt for the easy exit - poach from the competition or hire from abroad.

Civil aviation authorities say that public sector and private airlines in the country need to acquire over 800 new aircraft over the next five to 10 years, in addition to their existing fleets. It is estimated that India will need 40,000 cabin crew in the next 10 years for fresh employment and replacement.

Apart from hostesses and stewards, Indian airlines badly need commercial pilots. New airlines have hired foreign pilots from East Europe and West Asia, but how long can they continue like this? The new airlines need to create training institutions like Air India and Indian Airlines did in the past, say retired aviation industry officials.

The dearth of qualified commercial pilots is already staring in the face of the airlines, and with fleet expansion, this problem can acquire serious dimensions. All agree that training and recruiting Indian citizens is better than bringing in foreigners who can barely speak English.

But this cannot happen overnight. A minimum number of flying hours is required for a commercial pilot's licence. Then new recruits need to fly a number of hours as co-pilots and do a minimum number of landings and take offs, to qualify as commanders. It is because airlines have not trained adequate hands that they are hiring from abroad, says a senior commander who has trained and retrained in at least three different types of aircraft. (See: Fast-track pilot training programme rings alarm bells)

Some airlines have entered into contracts with private institutions to train and recruit hostesses and stewards, but even that may not be enough. Not all of them manage to put the new recruits through a basic training module after they are hired, and many of these young men and women have to learn on the job. But this cannot happen for pilots.

In addition to the Indian Airlines central training institution in Hyderabad, the national flying school in Rae Baereli has acquired a certain standing. Some private institutions have started training programmes for pilots, in collaboration with foreign institutions, including Australian universities. But these courses cost a hefty sum - more than Rs20 lakh.

It will be far more cost-effective - even revenue generating - if some airlines come together to form a joint venture to train an adequate number of pilots and cabin crew. Both Boeing and Airbus are willing to invest in aviation infrastructure in India, and it should be possible to get them to provide simulators for training.

State governments can also take the initiative to revive flying schools that were functioning till a few years ago. These can be run in collaboration with various airlines to train pilots. Ultimately, the answer may lie in an aviation university that has training infrastructure for all kinds of jobs in the sector, as the Punjab government has recently proposed.

Shipping industry sources say their situation is no different. Once, India provided qualified staff to shipping lines across the world. Now we are unable to generate our own requirements.

The industry needs about 25,000 officer level staff over the next few years, but it can hardly meet 50 per cent of that requirement now. Meanwhile, like in the aviation training sector, dubious private institutions flourish. But what is the industry doing about it?