Technician shortage: It’s time to get creative
More and more aircraft technicians are being recruited to work in theme parks, wind power and auto racing. Luring them back to business aviation is giving rise to some creative solutions. Words by Yves Le Marquand
Skilled but scarce: The FAA issued 30% fewer new mechanic certificates in 2020 than in the previous year. (Picture courtesy of Duncan Aviation).
Technician shortage: It’s time to get creative
More and more aircraft technicians are being recruited to work in theme parks, wind power and auto racing. Luring them back to business aviation is giving rise to some creative solutions. Words by Yves Le Marquand
Skilled but scarce: The FAA issued 30% fewer new mechanic certificates in 2020 than in the previous year. (Picture courtesy of Duncan Aviation).
THE AVIATION WORKFORCE has suffered a skill shortage for years – some would argue a decade or more. For example, in 2020, the FAA issued 30% fewer new mechanic certificates than it did in 2019. There’s every indication it’s a growing problem. But now aviators are taking command to bring a new class of professionals into the aviation maintenance workplace.
Research by private jet services provider Duncan Aviation confirms fewer students enrolling in aviation maintenance programmes. Also, more technicians with skills such as Airframe & Powerplant (A&P) certification are retiring each year.
Duncan was established back in 1956 and has been a player in the maintenance market since the 1980s. Despite that pedigree, the firm still has a hard time filling certain positions on a consistent basis.
“Fewer students are enrolling in vocational and technical programmes. These programmes go a long way to developing experienced technical applicants,” Jennifer Monroe, human resources supervisor, Duncan Aviation, based in Lincoln, Nebraska tells Corporate Jet Investor. There are also issues with experienced workers. “Many aviation experts are reaching retirement age and choosing to leave the active workforce. Some industry groups say that 36% of the aviation mechanic population is age 60 or more.”
David Jensen, senior vice president, Aircraft Maintenance for California-based ACI Jet says there are many, many reasons behind the technician shortage, and no one solution to solve this complex problem.
“Aviation is quite cyclical,” says Jensen. “Years ago, as with pilots, technicians and those who were mechanically inclined abounded, which also meant that wages were lower in what was an employers’ market. As flying and fixing planes is a specialised skill requiring many years of training and experience, it doesn’t react as quickly to changes in demand. Post-Covid flying not only rebounded quickly, but it rebounded to higher volumes than pre-pandemic flying.”
Jensen believes the maintenance sector has not taken full advantage of the potential workforce. “The glass ceiling for women in the aviation industry as a whole has only recently been addressed, more so in some areas than others. Aircraft maintenance is only just beginning to see a measurable amount of interest and participation by women, and we can do much, much better to facilitate that growth,” he says.
Monroe agrees that more competition, as a result of higher-flying volume, also plays a significant role. “There is more competition for talent and the total compensation, which includes company culture, name and brand recognition, training, and benefits. This competition can come from outside business aviation and includes commercial aviation plus amusement parks, car repair, and other industries that require trained individuals with mechanical aptitude.”
A&P licenses granted by the US National Aviation Academy enable technicians to work in a variety of industries including theme parks, wind turbines and auto racing.
Despite there being a shortage of technicians and aircraft maintenance staff across the board, all sources consulted by CJI agreed the most sought after are for digital-based roles. Jensen says: “Over recent years there has been a steadily increasing demand for technicians with electronics and computer/networking experience or expertise. More and more aircraft systems are becoming electronically monitored and controlled, and it’s a skillset that is certainly in demand.”
Duncan’s Monroe says if the technician shortage worsens and there are staffing constraints industry-wide, there is a risk that business aircraft operators will have a harder time securing services for their aircraft with the downtimes and timelines they have become accustomed to.
ACI Jet’s Jensen says the solution to the shortage will come from within the industry. “Already, operators like us, educational facilities, public interest groups and others are gearing up and making changes to bring a whole new class of professionals into the aviation maintenance workplace. The worst-case scenario, we believe, would be if any one of us stepped back to allow ‘someone else’ to fix this. We’re aviators: we take command and fix things ourselves,” he says.
David Jensen, ACI Jet, believes the maintenance sector in business aviation has not taken full advantage of the potential workforce. (Image: ACI Jet).
David Jensen, ACI Jet, believes the maintenance sector in business aviation has not taken full advantage of the potential workforce. (Image: ACI Jet).
Working to stay ahead of trends
So, what can be done to increase the flow of talent into the aircraft maintenance sector? Jensen says that the company has had to work hard and to get creative. “That’s the best way to sum it up. It’s a two-pronged approach, in that a significant amount of time and resources of my management team are invested purely in recruiting activities. Our human resources and marketing teams are constantly working to stay ahead of trends that make employment with us more enticing. It’s a constantly evolving process, but we’ve managed to keep pace.”
From a perspective shaped by 40-plus years in the US segment of that industry, Duncan offers educational programmes, internships, apprenticeships and partners with schools and academies to raise awareness about the potential of a career in aviation.
Monroe says: “We are also working with schools that have aviation, mechanic and electrical programmes in the areas we have facilities to develop interest and teach high potential students about Duncan Aviation.
“This summer, we will have 55 interns working in our technical production areas at our facilities in Nebraska, Michigan and Utah. These summer internships allow students the opportunity to learn more about the company and explore possible career paths in business aviation service and support while working full-time alongside other team members.”
Duncan Aviation offers apprenticeships, or full-time careers that include on-the-job training and instruction. Currently, it has 30 apprentices working full-time whilst preparing for their 18-month A&P certification test. “However, we are working to make this an even more robust and structured programme in the future,” says Monroe.
Through partnerships with several schools across the US, Monroe says the firm discovered some advocate the potential of airline jobs more readily. “We are working hard to teach them more about business aviation and its unique career opportunities. We also have several technical team members who volunteer to sit on the advisory and even curriculum development boards for some of their local schools to ensure they are teaching the skills needed by the aviation industry upon graduation.”
Looking to Europe, in particular Germany, Nicolas von Mende, CEO, Atlas Air Service says until two years ago his firm had little experience of any technician shortage – aside from occasional delays securing an avionics expert or sheet metal worker. However, following the same trend as the US, since the upturn in the flight activity resulting from the pandemic, Atlas Air Service has found sourcing talent more challenging.
“We have seen a shortage of technicians – that is definitely true. I would say we have a 5% shortage of our aviation technicians at any one time. So compared with the US, we are in a very comfortable position, but it is true there is a shortage right now,” von Mende tells CJI.
Atlas Air Service, with bases in both Germany and Switzerland, has witnessed a key trend related to the shortage. According to von Mende, younger staff members have a more intense focus on their work/life balance. “They are more interested, not only in money, but also in their workplace environment – in terms of fairness, opportunities, transparency and training. And we must react to these shifts in needs.”
One way Atlas Air Service is meeting the changing demands of its workforce and improving employee retention is to offer sabbaticals. For example, an Atlas Air Service hangar technician recently requested a six-month sabbatical to go travelling in Europe, which was granted. The company also allows for flexible or reduced working hours which can assist young parents, says von Mende. “Being a manager means your top priority should be resource management and that’s people management. So, we invest quite heavily in providing solutions here.”
Aviation has typically been a male-dominated industry and aircraft maintenance has reflected that. But diversity is on the rise. “Currently we have a 50:50 split between males and females on our technician trainee programme. In particular, avionics has proved very attractive to female trainees. They are still in school and on the theoretical side have been even better than their male counterparts,” says von Mende.
As technology evolves, the responsibilities of certain roles, or at least the way they are performed, have changed dramatically. Avionics is one of the best examples. About 20 years ago technicians were like Swiss watchmakers undertaking very mechanical work, now they are software experts. “It was difficult to retrain avionic experts to become software engineers, but it is still an area where we have a shortage. Aircraft are becoming more computerised, so you need more avionics experts.”
“We have a 5% shortage of our aviation technicians at any one time.”
Nicolas von Mende, CEO Atlas Air Service
Atlas Air Service has managed to alleviate some pressure mounted by the shortage by sub-contracting firms to provide some services. Recently, a team of sheet metal workers left an Atlas Air Service competitor to go independent. “We have a friendly agreement with that firm to give them certain kinds of minimum utilisation – 5,000 hours per year – and in return they guarantee to give us priority when we have sheet metal work. It is a creative solution to staffing problems.”
There’s no doubt maintenance and aircraft service providers are struggling, in varying degrees, to retain existing technicians and to attract new talent to the industry. Many are responding with increasingly creative solutions. But is just being resourceful enough to solve the problem? As demand for private jets surges – together with the need for A&P technicians to service them – perhaps longer term solutions are needed to ensure aircraft stay in the air.
Sourcing technician talent has become more troublesome since the pandemic, says Atlas Air Service. Pictured is its Bremen Service Centre.
Maintaining a Constant flow of technicians: Case Study
ENSURING THE MRO talent pipeline maintains its flow is crucial to keeping aircraft flying. That’s why Constant Aviation is expanding its Maintenance Apprenticeship Program and has raised technician wages 10% this year, putting the firm in the top 2% of highest technician wages in the US.
David H. Davies, CEO, Constant Aviation tells Corporate Jet Investor: “With the private aviation industry experiencing record growth, rising demand for technical work on aircraft has squeezed MRO staffing industry wide. High utilisation of end users is generating a lot of opportunity across all functions of business aviation including at MROs.”
The two-year apprenticeship programme will see apprentices work alongside aircraft technicians, as well as in the classroom and laboratory. Apprentices can also acquire the FAA Airframe Certification.
“[The] expanded Maintenance Apprenticeship Program gives prospective technicians the experience and skills they need for careers in aviation through on-the-job training and classroom and online education,” says Davies. “It provides anyone interested in a high-paying career in aviation with the training and experience they need to get started – with no experience required, at no cost and while earning a salary.”
The Maintenance Apprenticeship Program is available at Constant Aviation’s main MRO facilities at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Ohio and Orlando Sanford International Airport, Florida. No prior experience is required, according to the firm, and apprentices will become full-time employees, eligible for benefits, earning an hourly wage, and receiving pay increases as they move through the programme.
The enhanced programme is the latest step in the effort to attract new talent and create a pipeline of qualified employees to ensure aircraft maintenance in the long-term.
Davies says: “Constant is also recruiting established technicians by offering a $15,000 signing bonus for successful military veteran candidates to bring experienced technicians into the hangars immediately.” Around 40% of Constant’s current workforce consists of veterans.
Constant also offers a $2,000 signing bonus for other successful technical position candidates and grants up to $8,000 to successful AOG technician candidates after they complete a year with the firm.
The company has also been making partnerships with technical colleges. Including El Paso’s Western Tech and Cleveland’s Davis Aviation and Maritime High School. Constant recently donated a Hawker Beechcraft 400XP light jet fuselage to Pennsylvania’s Johnson College, to assist the addition of an aircraft maintenance programme to the college’s transportation study course.
Maintaining a Constant flow of technicians: Case Study
ENSURING THE MRO talent pipeline maintains its flow is crucial to keeping aircraft flying. That’s why Constant Aviation is expanding its Maintenance Apprenticeship Program and has raised technician wages 10% this year, putting the firm in the top 2% of highest technician wages in the US.
David H. Davies, CEO, Constant Aviation tells Corporate Jet Investor: “With the private aviation industry experiencing record growth, rising demand for technical work on aircraft has squeezed MRO staffing industry wide. High utilisation of end users is generating a lot of opportunity across all functions of business aviation including at MROs.”
The two-year apprenticeship programme will see apprentices work alongside aircraft technicians, as well as in the classroom and laboratory. Apprentices can also acquire the FAA Airframe Certification.
“[The] expanded Maintenance Apprenticeship Program gives prospective technicians the experience and skills they need for careers in aviation through on-the-job training and classroom and online education,” says Davies. “It provides anyone interested in a high-paying career in aviation with the training and experience they need to get started – with no experience required, at no cost and while earning a salary.”
The Maintenance Apprenticeship Program is available at Constant Aviation’s main MRO facilities at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Ohio and Orlando Sanford International Airport, Florida. No prior experience is required, according to the firm, and apprentices will become full-time employees, eligible for benefits, earning an hourly wage, and receiving pay increases as they move through the programme.
The enhanced programme is the latest step in the effort to attract new talent and create a pipeline of qualified employees to ensure aircraft maintenance in the long-term.
Davies says: “Constant is also recruiting established technicians by offering a $15,000 signing bonus for successful military veteran candidates to bring experienced technicians into the hangars immediately.” Around 40% of Constant’s current workforce consists of veterans.
Constant also offers a $2,000 signing bonus for other successful technical position candidates and grants up to $8,000 to successful AOG technician candidates after they complete a year with the firm.
The company has also been making partnerships with technical colleges. Including El Paso’s Western Tech and Cleveland’s Davis Aviation and Maritime High School. Constant recently donated a Hawker Beechcraft 400XP light jet fuselage to Pennsylvania’s Johnson College, to assist the addition of an aircraft maintenance programme to the college’s transportation study course.
