2023年３月に卒業し、現在「JALスカイ九州」で活躍中の M.H.さんを３年次のゼミ（Junior Seminar）にご招待して、グランド・スタッフとしての仕事や空港業務の大切さについて話して頂きました。下記の説明は、ゼミ担当者のDoyle准教授がまとめたものです。英語で書かれていますが、ぜひご一読ください。

Ms. M.H., a recent graduate of EAGL, came to talk with junior students about her university life at Fukuoka Jo Gakuin and her own job-hunting experiences. She now works for JAL Sky Kyushu.

She started off with a brief description of the company she works for; JAL Sky Kyushu. She shared the mission statement and business vision of the company. It was interesting for students to see an example of the working month. Her working month was split into early and late shifts. Also, students were able to get a sense of the work involved in being a ground staff member. Daily schedules were also introduced and students certainly understood the demands of working as part of a team in a busy airport setting.

Ms. M.H. mentioned some of the challenges that employees face; namely, helping passengers on their journeys. For example, ensuring that passengers who have little time to meet their connecting flights can actually get on those flights. This is done by thinking of ways to ensure quick disembarkation such as assigning priority seating and tagging luggage as priority off-loading. One difficulty mentioned was when technical difficulties develop with an airplane. In this case, ground staff must ensure passengers are swiftly taken to hotels and new bookings are made for a replacement flight as soon as possible. Students really were introduced to ‘life in the airport’!

Ms. M.H. described a sense of the company. The idea of “an atmosphere where the customer is first” and a workplace focus on “team-work”. The role of seniors instructing juniors politely and enthusiastically, creating a real sense of “closeness”, leading to a climate of positively sharing “fine-play” moments. The company environment is one where employees are encouraged to attempt many different tasks! Ms. M.H. provided the students with a real understanding of what life is like for her in her company now.

Ms. M.H. was unfortunate in that her university life also coincided with the Corona virus! However, she endeavoured to try her best and when it came to junior year for herself she was inspired by how passionate her peers were in their job hunting. It was after completing her teacher-training practice that she did some self-analysis and asked herself the following questions, “What do I really want to do when I go out into society?” and “What do I want from a company?”. 

Motivation is so important. She encouraged students to think about what values they hold, what do they find challenging or enjoyable, what kind of person do they want others to see when they look at them. In her case, she was able to find motivation in the business vision of JAL Sky Kyushu. The importance of interview preparation was stressed. She advised students to make good use of the support they get from the Career Centre, in particular, taking advantage of the tailored weekly or bi-weekly briefings on individual industries or company-related interview information. Above all, she stresses to be honest and don’t exaggerate anything in your interview! Her last piece of advice was to definitely look at the SPI and to look at it early!

Ms. M.H. certainly gave some interesting and pragmatic advice to the junior students. Not only did she educate them about the practicalities of what life is like as a ground staff member but she also gave the junior students some great tips on finding a job that suits them. This is a great example of one of our recent graduates connecting with current students and passing on knowledge in a wonderfully polite and enthusiastic fashion!

Aim High, Fly High! Think Simple, Think Different & Think EAGL!