Recession-hit jobless trained pilots wait for jobs

New Delhi: There are nearly 4000 trained commercial pilots in India who are still looking for jobs.
So far, these trained men have seen no encouraging news nor have their careers taken off due to recession. Many of them spend hours on the internet looking for job openings.
Trained pilots like Rakshit were trained at the Epic Aviation in Florida. But even after spending Rupees 30 lakhs on his course and getting a commercial pilot license, the 23-year-old has no job.
The Association Of Unemployed Pilots says that there are now more than 3500 trained pilots in India who are still waiting for jobs. The numbers have gone up drastically during the global meltdown.
Some of the jobs were taken away by more than 900 highly paid expatriate pilots, say members of the association of unemployed pilots. But the government has asked them to leave by July 2010, which may come as some relief to the unemployed ones awaiting some opportunities to pop up.
10/09/09 Priyanka Dube/CNN-IBN