Most airport teams invest heavily in training yet still struggle with inconsistent performance, knowledge gaps, or staff who feel unprepared for the job. In many cases, the problem isn’t the training itself, it’s that the training is being built on top of vague or outdated job descriptions.
Without a clear understanding of what each role actually requires, even the best-designed programs can miss the mark.
Here is why job clarity is the missing piece, how to spot if your airport is suffering from it, and how to fix it.
The Training Investment Paradox
Airports know training is important. Budgets are growing, more staff are enrolled, and onboarding programs are longer than ever.
Yet, operational gaps continue to appear and new recruits still take weeks before they can work confidently on their own. Even after completing the training, many staff struggle when faced with unexpected situations while others feel overwhelmed or unsure about exactly what is expected of them.
Why? Because their role is not clearly defined, they're not sure not how to do their job but what is expected of them exactly. Without that clarity, training ends up being too general and fails to focus on the competencies that matter most.
Why Job Clarity Comes First
Training should not be delivered in isolation, it should be the outcome of good workforce planning. This planning begins with crystal-clear, up-to-date role definitions that anchor every decision about what to train, when to train, and for whom.
When job clarity is missing, it’s easy for staff to receive training in tasks they rarely perform, while skipping over capabilities that are essential for safety, compliance, and customer service. The result is wasted training investment and missed performance potential.
When performance inevitably dips, managers are left unable to measure return on investment because the expectations for the role were never clearly defined in the first place. Instead of training to close known, measurable gaps, organizations end up training to a “best guess”.
Signs Your Roles and Training Are Out of Sync
Airports can quickly spot a role–training mismatch if they look for the following warning signs:
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Training content doesn’t reflect reality: Staff spend time learning procedures that don’t match what happens on the floor or in the field.
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Managers are constantly “patching” knowledge gaps: Supervisors spend valuable time correcting or re-training after staff complete formal programs.
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High performers don’t match training outcomes: Some of your best employees aren’t necessarily the ones with the most certifications or training hours.
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Everyone’s learning path looks identical: Training is one-size-fits-all, rather than targeted to the competencies of each specific role.
If these sound familiar, it’s a strong signal that your workforce planning and training strategies are operating in silos.
How Accurate Role Definitions Unlock Better Training
Workforce planning begins with accurate and standardized job descriptions. These should set out:
- the tasks to be completed,
- the responsibilities attached to each role,
- the competencies required to carry them out successfully.
When these elements are aligned with safety, compliance, and operational requirements, training becomes sharper and more effective:
- Staff know exactly what is expected from day one.
- Training focuses on the most important, high-impact skills.
- Managers have a clear, measurable framework for assessing readiness.
- Training ROI becomes visible, because expectations and outcomes can be directly compared.
A Practical Path Forward: Realignment in Action
If this sounds familiar, here’s a proven, practical path to get your roles and training back in sync:
- Step 1: Audit existing job descriptions for accuracy, completeness, and alignment with current operations.
- Step 2: Identify disconnects and gaps between role requirements and current training.
- Step 3: Use benchmarked, standardized roles as a baseline, then customize them to fit your airport’s context.
- Step 4: Align learning outcomes and training plans to role-specific competencies
How Klayo Makes This Easy
Realigning roles and training across an entire airport can feel overwhelming. That is why we created Klayo, a strategic workforce planning tool built for airports.
With Klayo, you start ahead of the curve. The platform includes over 100 standard airport roles built from real industry data that you can benchmark yourself against or use to update your job descriptions.
- Upload your existing job description or start fresh utilizing our job library.
- Edit and customize with ease. Update responsibilities, tasks, and competencies to match your actual operations.
- Use Klayo Intelligence to surface gaps. Klayo highlights missing elements and suggests tasks and competencies you might not have considered.
- Connect roles to training and compliance. Link each role directly to training content, qualifications, and regulatory requirements, giving you a single, live view of workforce readiness.
The result? Skills gaps close faster, learning pathways are role-specific, and staff have the clarity they need to perform at their best from day one.
Want to learn more about Klayo? Book a demo today.
