Contributor - Business Aviation

Mario Pierobon

Like other domains of the aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) industry, business aircraft maintenance is experiencing a shortage of technicians. In light of this constraint, the providers of business aviation MRO services are devising and implementing strategies to tackle the shortage.

 


“The impact of the worker shortage is more prevalent than ever in corporate aviation,"&nbsp;said Katie Johnson, vice president of human resources at West Star Aviation.&nbsp;"As an industry, we are all talking about it and reading what the industry is doing including NBAA and Congress. The corporate aviation, general aviation, and commercial aviation industries are booming and have been for the last few years, with fewer people coming out of the trade schools, with the military having retirees leave and not going into the workforce. This complete set of circumstances means that the job pool for our industry is drying up."&nbsp;

 


Chris Bodine, Augusta vice president and general manager at StandardAero, said,&nbsp;“The pipeline for our future technical workforce development is a concern, and we are going to need additional people; in fact, the constraining issue in the future is going to be available qualified technicians. Enrollment is up at most of the aviation programs, but there is an 18-24 month time frame for these students to complete the programs and make it to the workforce."

 


<h2>Connect and Engage</h2>

 


Organizations are adapting from a "post and pray"&nbsp;approach to&nbsp;"connect and engage" to help potential employees understand the reasons behind choosing a career in aviation. “To do this we have connected with various high schools and presented to students about aviation careers and we have also made a financial investment to help fund an aviation program&nbsp;within a high school," said Johnson.&nbsp;"We find students really connect with hearing from alumni who can share with them exactly what their first year on the job will be like. We also bring a lead technician and program&nbsp;manager who can share insight into advancing in their career and what a manager looks for in future technicians. We significantly increased the number of internships and apprenticeships we offer and most recently have helped six employees obtain their A&amp;P license through on-the-job training."

 


“Our efforts to develop technicians range from apprenticeship programs with local colleges to mentoring students at various trade schools and internships in our repair shops. We also collaborate with local community colleges to develop programs and occupational standards to establish certification programs for A&amp;P mechanics and other technicians," said Bodine.

 


<h2>Military Resources</h2>

 


Recruiting from the military world also offers opportunities. “We actively recruit veterans and find them to be very well-suited for many of our maintenance and technical roles. In fact, more than 20 percent&nbsp;of our U.S. workforce today is either retired or active/reserve military veterans. In addition, we are expanding operations in places where there is an embedded pool of military and government-trained people who are qualified and available in those locations," said Bodine.

 


Bridging programs are necessary to allow&nbsp;military members to learn about the job and the careers in business aviation so they are more informed and capable of starting a civilian job when they transition. “One of the keys to our success is hiring for attitude and training for expertise. This really shows the investment we are willing to make in the person, which leads to a mutually rewarding employment experience. Moving forward, we will likely solidify a few partnerships with key schools and offer more scholarship opportunities," said Johnson. “We also work with our contract labor partners to supplement with experienced technicians during peak periods."

 


West Star Aviation just hired its first active-duty military member in Chattanooga through the SkillBridge program. This is a program&nbsp;with the Department of Defense that enables active-duty military to obtain an internship and on-the-job training to prepare for their transition into the civilian world.

 


<h2>Investing in Education</h2>

 


StandardAero is also bringing in people from ancillary industry sectors, like automotive and industrial manufacturing companies, and training people to cross over, learn quickly and get certified as A&amp;Ps. “We have also donated tooling, engines, and equipment to help schools provide hands-on training. Finally, we partner with trade associations&nbsp;like GAMA and NBAA to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics [STEM]&nbsp;education and participate in programs to attract young people to careers in aviation and work closely with the local schools and school boards in the hometowns that we have facilities to support their STEM efforts," said Bodine. “We recently attended and supported a new program&nbsp;that the Atlanta FAA FSDO has started working on named STEM/AVSED [STEM/aviation and&nbsp;space education]. This program&nbsp;will be for reaching out to students of all ages to start thinking about aviation as a career. The FAA created the STEM/AVSED Outreach Program to prepare and inspire the next generation of skilled professionals for the aviation/aerospace communities, using STEM-based programs. Flight Standards Atlanta will primarily focus on careers in aviation maintenance and pilot training."

 


<h2>Skill Requirements</h2>

 


Given the development of business aircraft technology, Johnson believes that there is a specific set of professional qualifications and skills that MROs are increasingly looking for in their recruits. “We will always need licensed aviation maintenance technicians for the monthly-to-yearly inspections, and given the technology changes in the industry, [the need for] avionics maintenance technicians is an emerging [demand] as well," she said.&nbsp;“An avionics maintenance technician can troubleshoot the various systems integrated into the aircraft while many have an A&amp;P license as well as knowledge of maintenance tasks. People who have dual knowledge of aircraft and avionics maintenance are in very high demand now and in the foreseeable future. We are always looking for ways to be proactive in our industry."

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