Employment and skills
Airports offer a diverse range of employment opportunities, including airline staff, security personnel, ground crews, fire and police officers, engineers, construction workers, company management and retail staff.
Over 76,500 people work for over 320 companies at Heathrow. Around 60% are employed by airlines and their agents, with a quarter in customer service, catering and retail. As Heathrow's owner, we directly employ around 5,500 people at the airport, mostly in security-related roles.
Almost half of the people employed at Heathrow live nearby. This is Heathrow's greatest contribution to the local economy. We encourage companies operating at the airport to recruit local people and help them gain relevant qualifications. We also work with schools to raise awareness about employment at Heathrow (see Education).
Heathrow's workforce is constantly evolving. Customer service and leadership skills remain vital, and technical skills are increasingly important as airport and airline processes are automated. We must ensure that existing employees and future recruits are equipped with the skills they need to meet customer needs and to further their careers at Heathrow.
We describe our approach to managing education employment and skills at Heathrow using a model based on control, guide and influence in our report Towards a Sustainable Heathrow – a focus on education, employment and skills.
We hold an annual Apprenticeship Fair at Heathrow so that young people can meet those airport employers who offer high-quality employment and training opportunities. Through Heathrow's Retail Academy, we work with business partners to offer National Vocational Qualifications and apprenticeships for retail and catering staff. Heathrow also supports award-winning programmes that help unemployed local people get jobs at the airport working in retail and construction.
Heathrow: On-airport employment survey (PDF) and Heathrow related employment report (PDF) provide an overview of the employment landscape both within and surrounding the airport.
Our strategy
We manage Heathrow's contribution to local employment and skills through the following objectives:
1. Enhance Heathrow's contribution to local employment
1.1 Goal: Support unemployed and economically inactive residents from Heathrow's five local boroughs to access employment at the airport
Key actions
- Through the Heathrow Sustainability Partnership, develop a strategy to support local residents to access airport employment through the Heathrow Academy
- Hold a Heathrow Apprenticeship Fair to help local young people find out about high-quality airport careers
2. Enhance Heathrow's contribution to skills
1.2 Goal: Improve skills and qualifications of airport staff
Key actions
Key actions
- Manage National Vocational Qualifications and Apprenticeships for Heathrow's retail and catering staff as part of the Retail Academy
- Operate an engineering apprenticeship
