Case Study: Airwork Holdings identifies ideal pilots and improves hiring fit with OPRA Psychology Group

Identifying Ideal Pilots

Airwork Holdings, a global aviation provider, needed a better way to identify pilots who would be a strong cultural and operational fit for its fixed-wing operations. Because pilots work in close coordination with co-pilots and multiple internal teams, a poor hire could affect performance and culture, so Airwork introduced psychometric profiling to assess attributes like intelligence, resilience, and collaboration.

OPRA Psychology Group implemented a suite of validated psychometric assessments, including cognitive reasoning, personality, emotional intelligence, and values/motivators profiling, to support recruitment between the first and second interviews. After an initial 12-month assessment period, OPRA Psychology Group analyzed pilot performance data and identified a consistent “ideal pilot” profile based on high-performing candidates. This gave Airwork a quantitative fit benchmark that now supports hiring, onboarding, coaching, and retention, with the company reporting that candidates who score stronger fit have been among its best pilots.

Airwork Holdings

Emma Bailey

Manager, People & Performance