Nigeria’s aviation industry risks losing its competitiveness in the global market unless operators and regulators urgently integrate the younger, technology-driven generation into leadership and decision-making.

This was the view of aviation stakeholders and experts yesterday at the second Aviation Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony with the theme: ‘The Next Generation of Aviation Leaders: Talent, Technology And Global Competitiveness,’ held in Lagos.

Participants at the event, said the industry could no longer afford to operate largely on traditional models while excluding or underestimating young professionals whose familiarity with technology could drive efficiency and innovation.

The Group Managing Director, Finchglow Holdings Ltd, Bankole Bernard, as a panelist, said the time had come for older professionals to acknowledge that the future of the industry belonged to the younger generation, particularly Generation Z and created room for them to take active roles in the sector.

Bernard said there was a growing disconnect between older aviation professionals and young people, adding that many misconceptions about the younger generation were preventing the industry from fully exploiting their talents.

He said: “The challenge is, if you look in this room today, how many Gen Zs do we have around sitting with us? “Unfortunately for you and I, and most of the people that are sitting here, it’s no longer our time. It is theirs.”

According to him, technology had given the younger generation an advantage that older professionals must recognise and harness rather than resist.

He noted that many technologies that appeared difficult to older professionals were already second nature to young people, stressing that the industry needed to increase its engagement with them and learn to communicate with them on their own terms.

Another stakeholder, Shery Kyari, said the industry needed to give younger professionals greater opportunities to assume leadership responsibilities, noting that some professionals had attained chief executive positions without the conventional 10 years of experience traditionally demanded for senior roles.

Kyari said boldness and willingness to take calculated risks had enabled some young professionals to distinguish themselves, stressing that older practitioners should focus on supporting and mentoring them rather than discouraging their ambitions.

He stated the aviation industry already had a crop of young professionals who would eventually occupy critical leadership positions and should therefore be deliberately nurtured.

“The older ones in the industry should make it their responsibility to support them,” Kyari said.

He added that the younger generation possessed skills and capabilities that older professionals might not necessarily have, particularly in areas driven by new technology.

Also, industry analyst Olumide Ohunayo argued that the sector must rethink its traditional approach to recruitment and talent development if Nigeria was to build an aviation industry capable of competing globally.

Ohunayo pointed to changing recruitment practices in advanced aviation markets, noting that conventional academic qualifications were increasingly being complemented by practical skills, problem-solving abilities and technological competence.

He cited the recruitment of air traffic controllers in the United States as an example of how gaming and multitasking abilities could be relevant to aviation jobs requiring rapid decision-making and coordination.

According to him, young people who were often dismissed as unserious because of their appearance, lifestyle or interest in digital games could possess critical skills needed to operate modern aviation systems.

He urged industry stakeholders to look beyond appearances and conventional qualifications when identifying talent.

Ohunayo said the industry must recognise that “those people we underestimate because they are in dreadlocks” or dress differently could ultimately become the professionals running the aviation system.

Besides, the Group Spokesman of Sifax Group, Muyiwa Akande stressed the need for structured mentorship to bridge the gap between experienced aviation professionals and younger entrants.

He recalled an incident involving a young job applicant who was initially judged negatively because he did not conform to conventional expectations about how a candidate should dress for an interview.

According to him, the individual eventually became one of the best recruitment decisions made by the organisation.

“Their thinking is different. The way they do their things, it’s different. We have a responsibility of accommodating what we call their idiosyncrasies,” he said.

He argued that while older professionals might possess education and experience, younger people had an important advantage as “digital natives” who had grown up with technology.