As China's civil aviation business rapidly develops, the demand for human resources continues to grow and experts say that China needs at least 240,000 civil aviation specialists in the next two decades.

"China's civil aviation business will suffer a shortage in specialists for quite a long time in the future," warned Du Yefu, an expert from the Civil Aviation University of China.

Following the development goals of China's civil aviation, by 2020 the country's civil aviation market will reach the current development scale of the United States.

Yet Du said in view of the civil aviation specialists, there still remains a large gap between the two nations.

In the United States, more than 700,000 people are working for the aviation companies but the number is less than 200,000 in China.

Du said the number of planes and the size of the air companies dictate the demand for specialists in this business.

As the domestic civil aviation market opens further, many overseas aviation companies will expand in China, boosting aeroplane purchases.

According to the International Air Transport Association, China will need 2,400 more planes in the next 20 years, making it the world's second largest aviation market.

Currently, the average ratio between staff members and the aeroplanes in international air companies is 100:1, but it is 200:1 in China, highlighting the need for specialists.

The specialists will mainly include civil aviation entrepreneurs, flight crew, air transportation safety professionals and aeroplane mechanics.

(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2006)