From Founder & Managing Director, Ross Anderson
The years 2020 to present have seen us push through a whirlwind of lockdowns, vaccine mandates and shut borders.
Nothing was guaranteed, everything was unpredictable, but there was some comfort in knowing we were all in it together.
At Aviassist, we had our fair share of challenges yet we managed to emerge from the other side still soaring. Our ability to adjust our operational output, without decreasing our headcount was a great achievement.
We pride ourselves on finding the best industry talent, and in such unknown times, I made it my mission to do everything in my power to keep the Aviassist family intact while increasing our instructor headcount by 30 per cent.
But amongst these positives, we had to be cautious. Carefully managing cash flow and planning for unpredictable last-minute changes, meant that we had to be on top of our game.
Looking back I can say that I am immensely proud of how our team worked together – even from different corners of Australia – to get us to where we are today.
Organisation, direction and communication are things that rank pretty high in my list of professional values, and I can say that the pandemic definitely strengthened these skills in each of our team members.
Fast forward to April 2022, and we managed to gather the entirety of Aviassist for the first time in what felt like a lifetime. Amid new faces and rusty social skills, we soon got to chatting about our mission and the future visions for Aviassist.
Aviassist’s strategic goals have been brought back into focus as we invest in our team to continue on our brand promises. Featuring new courses, aircraft types and international expansion we bid farewell to the overly cautious approach and a sense of excitement is in the air.
My personal favourite is the time of continual planning and replanning is being replaced with results, the brakes are off and we are sharing a sense of achievement. The exit from COVID had its share of challenges in the volume of training demand but with a team of professionals around Australia, we stepped up and got the job done.
Since April, I have prioritised time with my family, and we had the pleasure of a well-deserved break before jumping into my latest personal and professional challenge, an MBA!
For Aviassist, professional development and industry advancement are back at the core of everything we do. We recently had the pleasure of sponsoring the inaugural Australia Aviation Awards as Gold Partners at The Star in Sydney. Both Rowan, our Head of Legal and Professional Services, and I were finalists in the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Professional of the Year Award. We also were honoured to present several awards within our industry to some very well-deserving businesses and individuals. It was a great opportunity to bring the team together and celebrate our part in shaping and developing the drone industry.
I am definitely looking forward to the future of Aviassist and can’t wait to see what else the team and I can achieve in our space and beyond.
Ross Anderson, Founder & Managing Director of Aviassist.