A cross-sectional investigation of the relationships education, certification, and experience have with knowledge, skills, and abilities among aviation professionals

The aviation industry is a complex system with many different segments and as such, makes hiring the right person a complicated endeavor. Previous research suggested that knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) are composed of elements that include education, certification, and experience (ECE). The relative importance of ECE is dependent on the type of job within the aviation sector. The objective of this mixed-methods concurrent triangulation study was to examine aviation industry professionals’ perceived relationship between their ECE and the development of their KSAs. The convenience sample consisted of 404 professionals in the aviation industry who completed the KSA Composite Measure (KCM). The study clarified relationships between ECEs and KSAs that managers in the aviation industry can apply when developing job openings, conducting interviews, reviewing applicant credentials, and building high-performance teams.