A recruitment campaign built inside an upcycled Airbus fuselage has landed at the Farnborough International Airshow, carrying an awkward message for one of Britain’s flagship industries: the average job pays £52,600, and there are still 10,000 of them going unfilled every year.

The There’s Aerospace For You pod, created from the fuselage of an Airbus A318, arrived at the show on Monday as part of a nationwide tour. Visitors can step inside a real aircraft structure, explore aerospace stories and browse the careers, apprenticeships and training routes on offer across the sector.

Its timing is pointed. The campaign has pitched up at the biggest Farnborough in the show’s history, where a record 1,636 exhibitors are chasing orders that the industry may struggle to deliver without more people to build them.

The numbers behind the campaign make uncomfortable reading. Two thirds of aerospace employers, 66 per cent, report persistent workforce shortages that actively hold back growth. Of the 10,000 technical vacancies left unfilled each year, 43 per cent are classed as chronically hard to fill for the simple reason that nobody applies.

For the SMEs that make up the bulk of the aerospace supply chain, that scarcity is felt twice over. Smaller firms compete for the same engineers, machinists and technicians as the primes, usually without the salary budgets or brand recognition to win. MPs warned earlier this year that manufacturers across aerospace, automotive, rail and maritime cannot access the skilled workforce they need, and that outdated training pathways are pushing young people away.

The prize for those who do apply is considerable. Aerospace roles pay an average of £52,600, some 33 per cent above the national figure. For comparison, median full-time earnings across the UK stood at £39,039 in April 2025, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Industry Minister Chris McDonald said: “To keep our world-class aerospace sector at the forefront of innovation we need to secure its next generation of talent, and There’s Aerospace For You sends a strong message that there’s a career for everyone in this exciting industry.

“Through our Modern Industrial Strategy we’re backing high-growth industries like aerospace with the investment in skills they need for the future, and whether your background is in manufacturing, construction, sustainability or digital technologies, this sector has a position ready for you in locations right across the UK.”

The Modern Industrial Strategy names advanced manufacturing among its priority growth sectors, and skills funding is following. The government’s £725 million apprenticeship reform package will fully fund training for under-25s at small and medium-sized firms, a change that could help smaller aerospace suppliers grow their own talent rather than lose out in the bidding war for experienced staff.

Kevin Craven, CEO of trade body ADS, was blunt about the scale of the problem. “Securing the future workforce of the UK aerospace industry is not a challenge that any single manufacturer can solve in isolation. It requires immediate, collective industrial action. We currently employ 113,000 people in world-class, high-wage roles outside of London, yet we are holding back our own growth potential by leaving 10,000 vacancies unfilled each year. The UK’s economic advantage and our advanced engineering capabilities are underpinned by this critical sector.”

For business owners struggling to recruit, the campaign’s premise will sound familiar. The difference is that aerospace has decided the answer is to put its shop window inside an aircraft and take it to the public. Job seekers, career switchers and graduates can explore vacancies and local training routes at aerospaceforyou.org.uk.