Page 16 - AAA January / February 2023 Latest Magazine | GBP

an extra incentive to hire fresh talent; it had The high demand for AMTs is providing never-before opportuni-
to let go of 500-600 staff from its Asia-Pacific ties to graduates with degrees in the field. Steve Boecker, MRO
operations in 2020. About half of the nearly sales executive at Delta TechOps, was among the top executives
900 employees hired in 2022 was in the Asia from aviation companies that spoke at a panel discussion last
Pacific region. year at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. “For those of you
In addition to hiring new talent, Pratt & who want to become an aircraft maintenance technician, and
you’re qualified and certified, you can almost name your price,”
Whitney is also investing in automation
and sustainability advancements across its he told students.
aftermarket sites. In September last year, it
announced a working partnership with the Taking the Initiative
Singapore Economic Development Board MRO major AAR is helping build the next generation of aviation
(EDB) to establish a technology accelerator
at the Seletar Aerospace Park, a facility that mechanics through its EAGLE Career Pathway Program. Launched
before the pandemic, the initiative has been successful in getting
would focus on areas such as automation,
advanced inspection, connected factory and STEM students in schools interested in aviation. In addition to the
digital twins. Technologies developed in seven EAGLE pathway schools that produce qualified technicians,
Singapore will be applied across the compa- AAR is also partnering with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
ny’s MRO facilities across the globe. to provide a nine-week aviation maintenance Skillbridge course
that trains transitioning military, veterans, and eligible military
One of the major stumbling blocks for com- spouses in aviation maintenance. The MRO firm is also working
panies in the Asia Pacific to recruit new with VIPER Transitions to provide an aircraft maintenance work-
technicians and to retain existing staff is that force program based on general curriculum developed by the
technician salaries in the region are consider- Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM). AAR is also a partner,
ably lower than those in the U.S. or Europe. along with the U.S. Department of Labor’s North Texas Job Corps
Stiff competition from other industries is also Center and the US Aviation Academy, in the North Texas Job
hard to ward off. Corps Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics Advanced Training
Program. The program offers tuition-free training for young Texas
In Dire Straits residents interested in aviation maintenance.
The shortage is not limited to one region. In In 2021, MRO companies hired 31 percent of all airframe and
North America, which is expected to gener- powerplant (A&P) technicians employed by the industry, but had
ate US$22.6 billion in MRO demand this year, to face competition from passenger airlines. Emerging as the
the new-technician pipeline is at least 20 per- fastest growing aviation employer, major passenger and cargo
cent below the levels needed to meet rising airlines combined to hire 25 percent of all A&P graduates, up
demand across civil aviation, says the Aviation from 15 percent in 2020.
Technical Education Council (ATEC) Pipeline
Report published in November last year. The
shortfall is mainly because the pipeline vir- Creating Opportunities
tually dried up during the pandemic; there Delta Air Lines has partnered with more than 50 partner schools
was a 30 percent fall in certifications in 2020 through its TechOps Career Pathway Programs to ensure a steady
compared to the previous year. Although flow of qualified AMTs. In 2022, the airline partnered with the
there was a 33 percent increase in 2021 in Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP), ACE
the number of technicians obtaining their Academy and Solo Flight Academy to host 72 students ages
FAA mechanic certificate, the number of new 13-18 to teach them about career opportunities in aviation.
mechanics continued to remain below 2019 The initiative had been put on hold due to the pandemic. In
levels. January this year, Western Michigan University and SkyWest
In the U.S., the challenges faced by MRO com- Airlines announced that they are collaborating the SkyWest’s
panies in hiring fresh talent is compounded Pilot Pathway Program and AMT Pathway Program.
by the fact that the industry has an ageing United Airlines, which has over 9,000 mechanics spread across the
workforce. As per a 2020 U.S. Government globe at over 50 locations, launched Calibrate, an AMT pipeline
Accountability Office report, the average age program, in November last year. The airline, which will incorpo-
of the MRO workforce in the country was rate an in-house AMT apprenticeship as part of the program,
54. Half of the certificated technicians were wants to train more than 1,000 qualified AMTs by 2026.
between 50 and 70 years. Unless efforts to
maintain a steady pipeline of qualified AMTs American Airlines has joined hands with AIM, the largest avia-
bear fruit, the spate of expected retirements is tion maintenance training organization in the U.S., to ensure a
likely to further hurt an industry that is already steady stream of qualified mechanics for its MRO operations.
reeling from the effects of losing thousands The partnership guarantees top candidates from AIM’s Chicago
of technicians during the pandemic. Many of campus with interviews at American, provides ongoing engage-
the laid off AMTs have found jobs in other ment with the airline’s team of AMTs and offers access to the
industries or have retired. carrier’s maintenance facilities.

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