Job Growth

By now you’ve probably seen last week’s crew assessment forecast from Boeing regarding the need for technicians and pilots over the next 20 years. AMT posted the news on AMTOnline so I won’t restate all that was said. You can view it at: Boeing Job Projection In short the forecast says the commercial aviation industry will require 466,650 pilots and 596,500 maintenance personnel over the next 20 years. Both new and replacement commercial aircraft were cited as creating the worldwide demand. And, as no surprise, the Asia-Pacific region will see the largest growth in both pilots and maintenance workers. The result of some quick math conclude, that beginning now, there should be hiring of approximately 30,000 maintenance workers per year. I have to imagine the term “maintenance worker†in this context doesn’t mean that all of these jobs are for certificated technicians or engineers, and they are spread across many skill levels, and many different segments of the aircraft maintenance industry. This forecast is very similar to one published by ICAO earlier this year. And, I realize this is all of little consolation to those currently displaced workers. The Boeing article went on to mention training the next generation of technicians and pilots, and spoke briefly about how the industry needs to adapt to the learning styles of tomorrow's “technologically savvy pilots and mechanics.†Again, the subject of training is mentioned, and this statement serves as yet another reminder for the need to actively re-evaluate the current and often referred to as outdated process used to train and certify technicians. Brad Townsend, Chairman of NBAA Maintenance Committee submitted an interesting article on training and more importantly education for the aircraft maintenance technician. The article is currently posted as an Online Exclusive on AMTOnline. Keep ‘em flying, Ron