e-International Journal of Educational Research

Abstract

In line with the developments in the aviation sector in Turkey and in the world, the need for labor force is continuously increasing. In order to meet this strong demand universities open aviation departments. However, the excessive increase in the student quotas is remarkable. This excess is to such degree that quotas for half of the number of all graduates so far are opened in just one year. Therefore, by analyzing the employment status of graduates, this study seeks to find out whether opening these departments in a higher number of universities with a higher number of students is necessary or not and whether (in terms of finding a job) these departments should be preferred by students. The aim of this study is to determine the employment and career status of the graduates of Aircraft Maintenance, Aviation Electrics and Electronics, Civil Aviation Transportation Management, Air Traffic Control and Flight Training programs and to identify differences among these programs regarding the employment of their graduates.
Method: Focusing on the civil aviation graduates' employment, the target population for this study is the 2451 graduates of the Aircraft Maintenance, Aviation Electrics and Electronics, Civil Aviation Transportation Management, Air Traffic Control and Flight Training programs of Anadolu University, Kocaeli University, Erciyes University and Mustafa Kemal University that graduated students as of 2013. This is a field study supported by a survey model. Within this framework, a list of the civil aviation school alumni was created first and a survey form addressing the target audience on the list was prepared. In designing this survey form, the whole relevant literature was reviewed. The survey form which was designed on the basis of this literature review was then finalized after it was approved by 7 specialists. The survey is composed of 24 close-ended questions. This survey form was delivered online to the civil aviation graduates between December 11, 2013 and February 3, 2014. In this given period, a total of 759 participants responded to the survey.
Results: The results of the study indicate that, while a majority of the participants report currently having a job, the unemployment rate of the civil aviation transportation management graduates is higher than the average unemployment rate in Turkey. Considering the constantly-raised university student quotas, it is estimated that this unemployment rate will become even higher in the future. It is also evident that most of the graduates work in the private sector and they are not provided sufficient employment opportunities by public sector. Time duration needed to find a job after graduation is longer for civil aviation graduates than the Turkish average. Most of the graduates reported not earning the income they deserve and that they are not working in the positions they had envisaged before graduation. As can be seen from these results, there are some obvious problems regarding civil aviation graduates' employment status. In such a context, the need for opening such high-cost programs at new universities must be debated, the necessary planning for these programs must be carried out with sectoral cooperation and the students must be informed about the post-graduation career conditions.