Daily Memo: MRO Leaders Talk About Workforce Development; Let’s See Some Action

The commercial aftermarket business boom has spawned a number of popular discussion topics at industry gatherings. Arguably the most enduring is workforce development.

Everyone in the MRO world agrees that more certified mechanics are needed, and most everyone agrees that industry needs to focus more on outreach.

It’s right about here that consensus breaks down or at least begins to weaken. In the U.S., plenty of airlines and repair stations have community-focused programs, and some have direct-to-hire paths for airframe and powerplant (A&P) candidates in Part 147 schools. But too few are banding together at the industry level to support the kind of outreach they say they need.

“We need to become active,” MTU Maintenance-Fort Worth CEO Gernot Sell said at the recent Aviation Week AeroEngines conference in Tampa.

Sell explained that MTU has strong connections with local schools and Tarrant County, Texas, where Fort Worth is located. But the industrywide demand for talented workers means individual companies should look beyond their needs and focus on a broader effort to steer career-seekers into aviation maintenance.

“We need to get together to have a group of us looking at it and educating people,” Sell said. “Marketing the aviation industry isn’t where we should compete against each other. We can group up and join our forces to spread the word.”

Sell wasn’t alone at AeroEngines; several speakers underscored the potential of joint outreach efforts. MRO Americas in April will surely bring similar calls from the stage.

So, what’s a motivated executive with some marketing budget to do?

There are several promising options, starting with supporting one of the Aerospace Maintenance Council’s two (and soon to be three) annual competitions.

How does backing an event featuring MRO career converts boost the workforce pipeline? Word-of-mouth is and forever will be marketing’s most powerful tactic. What better way to encourage mechanics to spread the word about their work lives than by helping grow one of their most anticipated annual events?

For those seeking more direct access to the front of the workforce pipeline, check out the National Coalition for Aviation & Space Education. The group has been promoting aerospace education for more than three decades through various partnerships and collaborations.

Then there’s Choose Aerospace. The nonprofit’s efforts encompass both promotion and building pathways for A&Ps from high schools to companies.

Choose’s education component gives students access to classes that prepare them for the FAA’s General A&P test—one of three needed to earn a full rating.

Choose is also developing scholarship and direct-to-work apprenticeship programs to address other pain points identified by industry.

All of this is done with financial support from industry—the companies that need mechanics and skilled technical workers. And the more support Choose has, the more it can do.

“We keep hearing from industry that we need to market maintenance careers earlier and more effectively,” Choose Executive Director Crystal Maguire said. “Choose Aerospace is the mechanism that turns that conversation into action. But marketing alone doesn’t solve a workforce shortage. What solves it is access, curriculum, employer alignment, and financial support. We’ve built a model that connects all four—and we’re seeing measurable engagement from thousands of students nationwide.”

Choose’s programs have pulled in nearly 2,000 prospective A&Ps via more than 40 programs—most of them at the high-school level—in the last five years.

“That’s not theoretical impact,” Maguire said. “That’s a growing, engaged talent pool that didn’t exist five years ago.”