Opinion: How To Build An AI-Ready Aerospace Workforce

The aerospace and higher education sectors are grappling with artificial intelligence, and one of the fundamental questions is: What are the skill sets new graduates should have to use artificial intelligence productively, to act ethically and to ensure safe operations and decision-making?

Earlier this year, Vaughn College surveyed employers of some of our graduates to get a better sense of how the industries we serve are using artificial intelligence (AI) and what expectations they have for new employees. The respondents, 38 in all, included airlines, engine-makers, drone manufacturers, maintenance managers, training providers and more. Only 5% said that AI is used extensively or is “core” to operations, and the majority indicated that their use of AI is limited to moderate.

The respondents said they use AI mostly for data analysis and predictive analytics, such as for maintenance and scheduling. Interestingly, when asked how AI has been most beneficial, the response “increased efficiency” ranked highest, followed by “improved quality or accuracy of work” and “better use of employee time.” One respondent cautioned that AI is having a negative impact on “improved quality or accuracy of work.”

When it comes to challenges in implementation, you probably would not be surprised to learn that most respondents rated “trust, transparency or explainability of AI outputs” as the biggest hurdle, with “data privacy or security concerns” and “integration with existing systems” also ranking high. Given the rising concern about the cost of using AI, it was surprising to see “cost of implementation” ranked last, but that may indicate that AI is not used so much in aerospace.

What do employers expect from new graduates with regard to AI? About 75% of respondents said that basic AI knowledge is very/moderately important or core to the work. Cybersecurity, AI prompt fluency, data literacy and ability to evaluate accuracy of data ranked as the most important technical competencies in the AI workplace. More than 80% of respondents also indicated that critical thinking and problem solving are core skills for success in the workplace—especially in an AI environment.

When asked how colleges and universities should respond to the changing AI demands, almost 80% responded that curricula changes are warranted. A small percentage said major curricular redesign is needed. As to how educational institutions should approach those changes, more than 50% ranked integration of AI concepts into existing degree programs as the ideal.

In their written comments, most respondents implored institutions to teach students to think critically and act ethically. “The future belongs to those who can embrace AI and become proficient users of it, while not giving away too much authority to AI,” wrote one respondent. “We must still be subject matter experts that can tell when it is wrong so we can make corrections.”

In addition to the employer survey, we also surveyed Vaughn College faculty members about AI. Their greatest concern involves academic integrity and misuse by students to “feign learning.” This maps with a recent study published by EduCause, a nonprofit association of higher education professionals and industry colleagues looking at the application of technology, that surveyed faculty nationwide. Respondents to that survey ranked “increased misinformation, use of data without consent and loss of fundamental skills requiring independent thought” as the most urgent risks. Respondents also selected “AI’s pace of change” and “lack of AI expertise” as the top two challenges.

And what about the students? A recent Lumina Foundation and Gallup study found that most students use AI at least weekly, while a little more than half of their institutions discourage or prohibit the use of AI in coursework. That does not always mean students use it for cheating. The main reason selected for the use of AI was “to help understand complex material.” Seventy-four percent of student respondents said they avoid AI because they view it as unethical.

A key takeaway for higher education is that AI must be integrated across the curriculum so that students have practical expertise. At the same time, AI is not replacing critical thinking, problem-solving, ethics and communications skills—it is enabling graduates to do more higher-level thinking with new tools.

As AI reshapes the world, education providers and industry must collaborate more closely to make the right investments in those who will soon work at airlines, aerospace manufacturers or regulatory agencies.