As the CEO of Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology, it is safe to say I love aviation. From flying and maintenance to drone operations, I am passionate about all things aviation. With that passion, comes a desire to follow the aviation trends and projections. One of those trends is the upcoming shortage of aviation mechanics in the commercial airline industry. This shortage has been well known and documented for some time — well before the airline industry had to pivot due to COVID-19.
Outgoing is Outpacing Incoming
As most are well aware, the pandemic grounded a historic number of planes and the airline industry was greatly affected. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS), 2020 reported the lowest number of airline passengers since the 1980s. With COVID-19 affecting the airline industry seemingly overnight, airlines, their suppliers and industry partners had to make multi-faceted decisions quickly. Combine that with the question of how long the pandemic may last, airlines had to make tough calls, including offering early-retirement packages to their employees who were near retirement age.
As we see our country recovering from the pandemic and new guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) being issued, trends are telling us the airline industry is showing rapid signs of recovery in travel. The BTS has begun seeing an increase in travel again, and I believe the uptick will not only return us to a robust, healthy level — like we saw in 2019 — but will surpass it. With that in mind, many may wonder what will happen if airline companies are struggling to find the maintenance workers needed to maintain their fleets?
While the airline industry predicted the shortage for years, the pandemic has potentially exacerbated the potential negative effects of the aviation mechanic shortage. The industry now has fewer maintenance technicians to address the needs of the airlines and multiple parts of the aviation industry, which is a significant engine of growth for the U.S. economy. This shortage isn’t just affecting the U.S. According to Oliver Wyman, it’s a global shortage. Asia is projected to feel the effects of the shortage first through their anticipated growth in their aircraft fleet.
According to Wyman’s projections, the number of outgoing technicians will far outpace the number of incoming technicians. The median age of an aviation mechanic in the U.S. is 51 years of age, which is nine years older than the median age of the broader U.S. workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Boiled down, there’s an additional wave of mechanics that will be eligible to retire over the next decade. In fact, projections show half of all current American aircraft mechanics are set to retire by 2034. This is another reason for the mechanic shortage we’re seeing today and will continue to see.
The lack of supply of highly trained mechanics may lead to unintended results for the industry: increased costs of maintenance, cancellations of routes, lost productivity, slower economic growth, reduced innovation in aviation and fewer choices for business and leisure travelers.
The Solution? It’s Simple
Train the next generation of qualified aircraft mechanics now.
Aviation institutions, like Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology, that offer comprehensive training programs will be integral to the solution. The incoming mechanics are trained with a wide range of knowledge and skill. They understand overall aircraft functionality and the components within, such as diagnostic, avionic and electrical systems. They also understand collection and reporting of data for advanced analytics, big data and predictive maintenance.
Spartan College, as well as other aviation schools around the country, are already doing this. We prioritize student success and ensure students graduate with the necessary knowledge and expertise to work in this demanding and exacting aviation industry. So how is Spartan College helping our students gain the skills they need?
Our school was built around training. Spartan College students have opportunities for hands-on experiences, such as helping build a replica of Betty Skelton’s Pitts special, “Little Stinker,” giving those involved a specialized craft.
When the pandemic hit, we pivoted from traditional, ground-based classroom learning to include hybrid online offerings and revamped our labs to provide proper safety for students and faculty. Our Career Services team even took our recruitment events online with virtual seminars for our graduates to help our alumni find work.
Spartan College offers tutoring for students in both our academic and technical courses. Our graduates are afforded a refresher program where they can retake courses free of tuition, based on availability. These are just a few of the ways we provided additional values for our students during the pandemic.
Our Aviation Maintenance Technology and Bachelor of Science in Technology Management programs were already available to be taught as a hybrid or online model. In fact, the Aviation Maintenance Technology hybrid delivery option is the first ever FAA-approved training delivered partially online. Furthermore, our Bachelor of Science in Technology Management program helps provide further training to those already in the airline industry by offering management skill training to those in the front lines as mechanics and pilots. Our Bachelor of Science in Technology Management program can be taken entirely online, if you are in an approved state.
Partnerships
Spartan is not only focused on the impact to our students and graduates — but also our partners. We have been partnering with airlines and their teams to help recruit young cadets and mechanics, matching employer needs with prospects. We have already heard from our campuses that some of our cadets are being called up.
We are also anticipating some exciting changes through innovative new partnerships, like that with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Spartan has been selected to be the exclusive education provider for aviation training for 1.4 million Teamsters and their family members nationwide. The Teamsters and Spartan College foresee that this partnership will help the aviation industry to secure the human capital necessary to maintain the health and well-being of the U.S. aviation industry and lead the way in training America’s next generation of workers.
It’s reported by Satair that salaries of Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) mechanics have continued to increase year over year. To me, this seems like the right move to secure top talent. As the demand for A&P mechanics grows, I think it’s logical that the desirability and necessity of the aviation mechanic field will attract potential students to aviation schools, like Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology.
What is Needed?
Boeing and Airbus published that the global maintenance repair and operations industry will need a minimum of 600,000 new technicians over the next 20 years. The aviation industry as a whole needs a comprehensive and strategic plan on how to fill the need.
I know these types of situations are not new. Aviation is an industry that has been saturated with situations that require adaptation and strategic planning. I personally have no doubt the aviation industry, in partnership with high quality institutions across the country, will pivot and recover.
In the meantime, I’m confident that we at Spartan College will continue to focus on our students. We have developed and implemented a curriculum that trains in the skills needed to become an aircraft technician with a versatile skill set. I have wholehearted confidence that, as an industry, we’ll find a way out of this shortage. Spartan College will continue training the next generation of aviation technicians and be nimble for solutions and strategies that benefit our students and the industry. We’re ready for the next generation and we will do our part to ensure they’re ready.
