Still, aviation is by its nature an international industry, which is why there are opportunities for Irish people within the industry far beyond these shores. For example, Sigmar Aviation (a subsidiary of the Sigmar Group of recruitment companies) places a significant number of contract workers in global markets, especially in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. These contracts can take the form of ad hoc opportunities, or during fleet expansion or changes, scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, or simply to meet seasonal demands.

"We deal primarily with contract pilots, who we place globally, " said Fiona Scott, sales manager with Sigmar Aviation. "These are primarily flying jet aircraft - either the A320, or the Boeing planes such as the 737, 757, 767 and 777."

Irish pilots are in the minority of those placed by Sigmar Aviation, with pilots from South Africa, the US, and other European markets significantly outnumbering the homegrown fliers. But the activity experienced by Sigmar is indicative of the opportunities that are available to trained pilots - and these opportunities are set to increase with the expansion of the industry in general.

"There is a huge demand for pilots at the moment, " said Scott. "In fact, we are currently facing the largest pilot shortage in the industry's history. This is especially true for the A320, but the new planes, such as the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380 will create a new market segment that needs to be filled. In fact, we commission our own market research into pilot demand, and from a recent report submitted to us, we conservatively estimate demand for pilots at approximately 15,000 per year up until 2015."

There are also greater opportunities for cabin crew, especially in markets such as the Middle East, where there are a number of new start-up airlines.

These are mainly longterm contracts, whereas people looking for shortterm cabin crew contracts have probably missed the boat for this year. It might surprise people to find out that airlines are now looking for cabin crew with university degrees (although this is not a necessity) - and that cabin crews all require aircraft-specific training.

Engineering and maintenance is another area which is being affected by the expansion in the industry - and given the fact that Boeing expects to double its fleet size in the next decade or so, there will be quite a bit of work for those involved in the technical side. Leasing is another area which requires specialist personnel, and Sigmar places a number of technical reps, etc, to facilitate the process.

"There are also a number of senior positions which are becoming available, " said Scott. "For example, a lot of new start-up companies have opened around the world, with vacancies in positions such as director of maintenance or quality auditor."

Whatever the specific positions, the general message is that the aviation industry is doing very well at the moment, and this is following the near collapse of the industry (especially in the US) following September 11, 2001. The last American airline (Northwest) has just emerged from Chapter 11 in May, and the stabilisation of the market has coincided with a massive expansion in the east. So, all in all, it could be suggested that the industry is flying high.