Christopher Moore is an automatic drilling unit (ADU) technician. His co-worker, Jacob Driggers, is a structures mechanic. Both work fulltime at Airbus’ Mobile, Ala., assembly plant; have health insurance, a 401K, receive paid time off…and they’re only 19 years old.

Moore and Driggers are part of the Flight Works Alabama/Airbus FlightPath9 program, which targets southern Alabama high school seniors with a desire to work in aerospace. For two nights a week over the course of nine months, they attended classes at Flight Works Alabama, learning all facets of the aviation industry. Upon completion of FlightPath9 last year, they entered the second phase of training: The Airbus Fast Track, a 12-week program where they honed their skills on aircraft assembly, including torque, riveting, gauging, reading blueprints, tool use, ergonomics and more. 

Students who successfully complete Fast Track go on to work on assembly of Airbus’ A220 and A320 aircraft.

Moore and Driggers are well under way in their aviation careers, and they’re not even 20 yet. Helping to make this happen are innovative partnerships between education and industry that work together to train the next generation of technicians. FlightPath9, for example, is collaboration between Flight Works Alabama, Airbus, Embry-Riddle, Cintas, Southwest Alabama Partnership for Training and Employment and Snap-on, where each brings their expertise to the table to address the need for skilled workers in aviation. And the need is great. Airbus estimates the aviation industry will need to hire 640,000 new technicians in the next 20 years.

The key to fulfilling more than half a million projected job openings is placing aviation on the radar of young people and show them all the wonderful aspects of flight. 

This strategy is being launched through another initiative driven by Flight Works Alabama: We Build it Better. This program, aimed at middle school students, is deployed through We Build it Better innovation kits that contain curriculum centered around science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) education. The goal is to expose students to 21st century work skills that include measurement, product design, tools, electrical wiring, fiber optics and coding with fun, hands-on training that’s applicable not only to aviation, but several other industries as well. Allowing students to experience things such as innovation and invention are crucial to developing their specific areas of interest as they advance from middle school to high school, and onto tech school.

These types of partnerships between industry and education are proving themselves to be the correct path forward in exposing students to future career opportunities, not only in aviation, but other fields as well.