On Sept. 12, ARSA joined nearly 130 organizations across multiple industries and academia in urging U.S. congressional leaders to fully fund federal workforce programs.
“Employers are already facing workforce challenges. Impending waves of retirements from older workers, competition for workers across industries, and inadequate access to worker supports like childcare will exacerbate the existing demand for workers,” the group’s letter to House and Senate leaders said. “In order to address the immediate and long-term needs of businesses and workers, Congress must support robust investments in skills.”
The group advocated for appropriations legislation that:
(1) Funds federal workforce programs at robust levels.
(2) Provides dedicated funding for industry or sector partnerships.
(3) Expands Pell Grants to high-quality short-term training programs.
ARSA members benefit from improved technical training of all kinds. From short-term programs to aviation maintenance training school completion to full engineering curricula, maintenance providers compete for talent among and between every technical industry in the world.
The association’s workforce advocacy produced technician workforce grant programs that must be appropriated funds at the higher levels authorized by Congress in this year’s FAA reauthorization law. ARSA’s team will continue this broad push for skills investment will working to bolster specific programs – including regulatory improvements – serving aviation maintenance interests.
To read the complete letter, organized by Business Leaders United, click here.
Coverage of specific topics, like creation of the aviation technician grant program can be found elsewhere by searching ARSA.org.
Aug. 29, 2023
Business Leaders United, an initiative of the National Skills Coalition, has requested maintenance industry support for its policy initiative to improve digital skills training and resources. ARSA supports the effort as part of its broader effort to bolster competency based training and improve open access to resources (with limited regulatory hand-wringing over “emerging” technologies) and encourages its members to consider signing on.
New technologies can make workplaces of any kind more efficient. Repair stations may utilize digital record storage, tablet interfaces for task cards or work orders, or computer-based management of materials storage as some examples of resources that improve administrative functions in support of work performed under the aviation safety rules. Despite these kinds of tools becoming common for technical employers, data shows most of the workforce does not have the skills or experience to use them effectively.
To improve digital training resources and awareness, BLU is seeking business sign-on to a letter to U.S. lawmakers show general support for better skills policies. The letter does not include specific policy suggestions and signing on does not equate to endorsing any legislation, but rather endorses a set of principles that would close the digital skill divide such as job-related digital skills training and improving access to broadband, hardware, and equipment.
Review the following text and consider signing your company on in support. For questions and to participate, contact BLU Manager Jeran Culina.
The pandemic demonstrated the value of connected technology and that Americans must be empowered to adapt to technology’s constant evolution in the workplace.
America needs a comprehensive strategy to close the digital skill divide. As the nation implements historic investments in closing the digital divide, the supporting organizations encourage decisionmakers to consider five principles that can support Digital Equity at Work:
(1) High quality hardware in all hands. The pandemic laid bare the connection between access to notebooks, laptops, and other connected devices and access to education, training, jobs, healthcare, support services, and social networks.
(2) Every community connected. Broadband is a foundational service to which all Americans must have access.
(3) A digital skill foundation for all. Nearly 50 million people in the U.S. need to build foundational digital skills to harness the power of the Internet through connected devices. Every person should have the opportunity to develop broad-based, flexible digital problem-solving skills for current technologies and ongoing technological shifts.
(4) Upskilling for every worker in every workplace. Technology is impacting nearly every industry and occupation in different ways. We can empower workers with industry- and occupational-specific digital skills to adapt and advance in their careers.
(5) Rapid reskilling for rapid re-employment. Each industry has specific technical demands. Overnight the pandemic brought structural shifts to our labor market, reminding us that America’s workers must have access to rapid reskilling to move from one industry to another.
To see ARSA’s general activities related to workforce, career, and skill development, review the years’ worth of updates below. For questions about the association’s work in particular or support for BLU, contact Brett Levanto.
September 13, 2022
In June, the White House issued its “Talent Pipeline Challenge” to stimulate workforce development programs in transportation infrastructure. The program builds on investments made by Congress through laws like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the American Rescue Plan by pushing employers, educational institutions, government entities and philanthropic organizations to build career opportunities for underrepresented groups.
According to the program pledge, it encourages employers to partner with schools and community organizations, utilize apprenticeship programs and invest in recruitment incentives like tuition assistance or child care. With support from state and local governments using federal funds, these partnerships should provide new or bolster existing opportunities to expand workforce pathways.
ARSA has lent its support to the pipeline challenge through the National Skills Coalition’s Business Leaders United (BLU) program. The association has signed on to an effort encouraging the Biden Administration to continue pushing for local strategies to effectively train workers for in-demand jobs. This community-focused model is key to the ongoing success of the aviation workforce grant programs created during the most-recent FAA reauthorization and will remain a central driver of good workforce policy at the U.S. federal level.
The association encourages members to get involved in the initiative in one of three ways:
(1) Take the pledge. Though the White House specifically identifies the construction, broadband and electric vehicle sectors, the partnerships encouraged by the Talent Pipeline Challenge can serve all of the technical trades. By standing up for robust, equitable career opportunities, repair stations send a clear message about the vitality of the industry. Click here to get started.
(2) Broadly support local collaboration. The National Skills Coalition is collecting signatures in support for the Talent Pipeline Challenge. Separate from pledging to participate, companies can show the importance of focused workforce development policy from the executive branch: Advocating for effective use of existing federal funding. Email BLU Manager Jeran Culina to include your company (supporting organizations will not be listed publicly).
(3) Get ideas. The White House fact sheet includes multiple examples of programs stimulated by the challenge. Review them, look for potential partners or ideas for your own community-based collaboration.
As always, include ARSA in your communications and planning. The association always celebrates good investment in aviation professionals of the future and will help amplify your work to serve all.
April 27, 2022
On April 19, ARSA joined hundreds of organizations interested in skills development on a letter to U.S. House and Senate Leadership seeking expansion of Pell Grant eligibility to shorter-term education and training programs.
Federal Pell Grants are a form of U.S. government financial aid to students at undergraduate universities and similar post-secondary education programs. Grants generally do not have to be repaid and are available to those meeting eligibility requirements in amounts dependent on their expected family contribution (e.g., how much money the student can pay according to financial information submitted to the government), the cost of attendance determined by their school/program and their enrollment status and timeframe.
Pell Grants can currently be used only for programs totaling at least 600 hours over 15 weeks. According to the Community College Research Center at Columbia University, available evidence indicates that low-income adults in particular would benefit from access to Pell Grants for short term credentialing programs. Unfortunately, efforts to expand eligibility have met roadblocks because of perceived issues with the value, e.g., earnings impact, to students. As described in the letter, including short term training leading to a recognized credential in grant eligibility would expand program access and allow students to balance their personal and professional obligations while quickly transitioning into advanced careers.
“Expanding Pell Grant eligibility to shorter-term education and training programs will help create affordable and accessible pathways to postsecondary credentials for tens of thousands of students,” the letter said. “Eligible programs must be determined as in-demand and demonstrate wage progression for graduates. They must also be aligned with a recognized postsecondary credential, meet employer hiring requirements including for licensure or certification, and articulate for credit to support longer-term career pathways.”
For aviation employers, embracing skills built through such credentials – particularly those that are “stackable” with other certifications or accreditations – can open doorways for non-certificated individuals to advance rapidly into aircraft technician roles. Such program graduates make for model entry-level personnel and could potentially transition quickly into repairman certification or other career development tracks. In supporting broader availability of Pell Grant funds, the population of students who could quickly turn their education into employment readiness would dramatically increase.
To read the full letter, click here.
March 23, 2022
ARSA Vice President of Operations Brett Levanto speaks during the 2022 ACTE National Policy Seminar.
On March 23, ARSA Vice President of Operations Brett Levanto addressed participants at the National Policy Seminar of the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE). ACTE represents organizations and individuals actively engaged in providing hands-on and skills-based education pathways, including schools, workforce investment bodies, educators and administrators.
Levanto reviewed the aviation workforce “crisis” and described efforts by the association, its allied organizations and the FAA-administered Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force to improve awareness of and pathways to industry careers. After asking participants to call out the first aviation job that came to mind, Levanto explained how pilots (the common answer) can’t fly without maintainers, manufacturers, ground operations, air traffic controllers and a host of other industry careers. He then acknowledged the roughly half of attendees whose programs include aviation instruction – indicated by a show of hands – highlighting that many industry jobs depend on widely-applicable skills.
“The FAA recognizes more than fifty aviation career fields,” Levanto noted. “Those jobs depend on a broad range of skills and technical capabilities and shouldn’t be confined to specific programs or interest areas. Our employers can make good use of your students; we need to make those connections.”
After describing the industry’s long-developing workforce crisis and the Task Force’s roots in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, Levanto reviewed key areas of focus necessary to supporting robust aviation skill development. He noted the range of ages at which students become interested in aviation, highlighted the need for local community engagement, described industry efforts to improve career development and training policy and noted several policy priorities including proposed legislation that would establish the National Center for the Advancement of Aviation.
Acting Assistant Secretary of the Employment and Training Administration Angela Hanks speaks during the 2022 ACTE National Policy Seminar.
Levanto closed by quoting the presentation of Angela Hanks, acting assistant secretary of the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, who had preceded him at the podium. “Angela said something great: ‘Workforce development is the roads and bridges that connect people to good jobs.’ I love a good metaphor so we need to get an aviation connection in there. Maybe our work is building ‘runways, roads and bridges.’”
In addition to presenting, Levanto and Cargo Airline Association Senior Vice President Yvette Rose (who also serves on the Task Force) listened to the morning’s presentations to bring notes back to industry colleagues. Hanks’ speech included a number of federal program references of interest to aviation businesses seeking workforce and career development resources:
Between Hanks and Levanto, the event briefly strayed from its agenda to welcome a virtual visit from U.S. Senator Rob Portman of Ohio. Portman joined the gathering via Zoom to thank ACTE and its attendees for their recognition of his lifetime achievement in service to career and technical education, specifically recognizing his work as co-chair of the Senate’s CTE Caucus.
Information about ACTE and its National Policy Seminar can on its website at www.acteonline.org. Event participants should contact organizers about recording availability.
ARSA Encourages members to explore and report back on technical education resources, opportunities and experiences using ARSA.org/contact or by emailing Levanto directly.
August 10, 2021
On Aug. 5, ARSA joined a coalition of aviation stakeholders in a letter to President Biden outlining government actions to support technician career development.
“The pandemic took an enormous toll on the aviation maintenance industry,” the letter said. “Many seasoned workers left the industry…those departures have only exacerbated a long-standing and well-documented workforce crisis.”
Citing ARSA survey data as well as reports from the Aviation Technician Education Council, the submission advised the president to undertake four measures (for each, see related association work):
(1) Increase funding for FAA workforce grant programs (arsa.org/grant-program).
(2) Facilitate military-to-civilian career transitions (arsa.org/military-transitions).
(3) Support establishment of National Center for Advancement of Aviation (July 27, 2020 update below).
(4) Message positively about transportation careers (arsa.org/ac-65-30).
To read the full letter, click here, it was signed by the following organizations in addition to ARSA:
Aviation Technician Education Council
Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Organization
AAR Corp.
Choose Aerospace
Universal Technical Institute
STEM Education Coalition
Teamsters Airline Division
May 19, 2021
On May 19, the FAA hosted an online Aerospace Workforce Roundtable headlined by Administrator Steve Dickson and Deputy Administrator Brad Mimms.
Dickson opened by describing the agency’s increased focus on industry career development since hosting its inaugural Aviation Workforce Symposium in 2018 (see “Hard Questions at FAA Workforce Event” below). After the administrator’s introduction, Mimms reinforced the Biden administration’s commitment to technical skills development and started off a series of briefings from various functional offices.
Those updates included—
Responding to an ARSA question, participants confirmed the FAA’s 2021 plan to disburse all currently appropriated funds for aviation workforce grant programs. The agency is reviewing applications to be funded with money appropriated as part of the 2020 budget, so a second round of awards will likely be made later in the year to disburse 2021 funds.
Senior Advisor Kate Lang noted the popularity of the technician program, explaining the next solicitation will be made based on lessons learned during review of proposals received so far; requests for the initial round of funding far exceeded the resources that can be made available. The association encourages members who have already submitted to be prepared to make additional requests if no grant is received in the first round – and those who have not to get ready to do so when a new Notice of Funding Opportunity is issued.
The roundtable displayed a flurry of FAA activity and reinforced the government’s interest in learning from industry and the public. In addition to enthusiastic reviews of new social media and digital communications efforts, multiple roundtable participants referenced data points or lessons learned from stakeholders and working groups. ARSA Vice President of Operations Brett Levanto, who represents repair stations on the Youth Task Force, recognized multiple references to analysis performed by his subcommittee.
“I jumped out of my seat,” Levanto said, explaining his excitement hearing a reference to work done by his fellow Task Force members. “We’d learned some really important lessons about how and when to engage students and other future aviation professionals and hearing them repeated back by FAA personnel with whom I’ve never even dealt directly was powerful. The agency is listening and its people are sharing…that just makes it even more important that we in the industry keep on talking.”
To watch a recording of the discussion, click here or view the embedded video below.
The challenge of turning youthful energy into aviation career ambition demands early and constant contact with students. The best age to introduce a child to aviation and aerospace is “as soon as possible” and then never stopping that engagement.
As the United States gets ready to pause for its annual observance of Thanksgiving, ARSA encourages its members to use time with family – even if it’s via an online connection – to share the wonders of the industry and the excitement of a future in it.
Looking for a place to start? Try the “Learning Lab” of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. Its public resources can entertain and instruct children of all ages; from getting off the ground to orbiting the Earth to venturing the cosmos, inspiration awaits at learninglab.si.edu/org/airandspace.
If you really want to heed to call to start young, venture into the “Flights of Fancy” story time series:
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| Click here for the “Bessie Coleman” gallery. | Click here for the “Three High Flying Friends” gallery. |
July 21, 2020
On July 17, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced the appointment of 20 representatives to the Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force. The task force’s creation was mandated by the 2018 FAA reauthorization law to encourage high school students to pursue careers in aviation. ARSA Vice President of Operations Brett Levanto will represent aircraft repair stations.
The task force will recommend strategies for the FAA to:
(1) Facilitate and encourage U.S. high school students to enroll in and complete career and technical education courses, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
(2) Facilitate and encourage these students to enroll in a course of study related to an aviation career, including aviation manufacturing, engineering, and maintenance.
(3) Identify and develop pathways for students to secure registered apprenticeships, workforce development programs, or careers in the aviation industry of the United States.
Stay tuned for updates as Levanto and the other 19 representatives get to work. ARSA encourages industry members to support the effort by sharing workforce development thoughts, questions, needs or lessons learned to arsa.org/contact.
To review the list of task force appointees, click here.
To learn more about the task force via the FAA’s website, click here.
Follow along with ARSA’s support of the task force at arsa.org/youthtaskforce.
February 27, 2020
On Feb. 27, U.S. Sens. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) introduced a bill (S. 3360) to establish the National Center for the Advancement of Aviation.
The center would serve as a national, independent forum to facilitation collaboration and cooperation between stakeholders and related partners from all sectors of the industry. It would focus in particular on aviation and aerospace workforce development. The center’s work would focus on four key areas: STEM curricula, workforce development, economic and safety data and research, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.
On the same day, ARSA joined an industry-wide letter in support of the effort. The association also facilitated additional support from select member companies and allied organizations; the final submission included more than 130 entities representing hundreds of thousands of individuals, businesses, educational institutions and others involved in all segments of aviation and aerospace.
“The [center] created by [S. 3360] would ensure the United States remains a global aviation and aerospace leader,” the letter said.
To read S. 3360, click here.
To read the entire industry letter, click here.
Really cool day with @FAANews for the 2nd AVS #FAASTEM Symposium. The agency showed local middle and high school students what #aviation can do for them. (And helped me still administer an @ARSAWorks training session). pic.twitter.com/UQ5hsjbfDT
— Brett Levanto (@LevantoAir) September 26, 2019
On Sept. 26, the FAA’s Aviation Safety Office (AVS) hosted its second STEM Careers Symposium at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The event brought hundreds of local middle and high school students from the nation’s capital to 800 Independence Avenue for demonstrations, presentations and exhibits on aviation careers, skills and the government’s oversight of U.S. airspace.
After a welcome from Sunny Lee Fanning, FAA executive director of the Office of Quality, Integration and Executive Services, students divided by age group to take turns visiting the exhibition space in the Bessie Coleman Conference Center and participating in presentations in the Elwood Richard “Pete” Quesada Auditorium. There were lunch breaks and discussions and standing-room-only crowds for a packed agenda that wrapped up quickly as students ran to catch mid-afternoon buses back to their campuses.
“The FAA has produced a good model for student engagement,” said Brett Levanto, ARSA vice president of operations, who attended the event. “They kept the kids moving, engaged them with questions, gave them activities and brought out a series of young, smart, engaging presenters with local ties and personal stories that were familiar for a D.C.-area student.”
Describing ARSA’s purpose at the event – part of the association’s broader effort to support the aviation workforce, which includes both industry and government personnel needs – Levanto noted a number of goals:
(1) Get involved with the FAA’s and others’ existing activities related to stimulating interest in aviation, urging strong representation for maintenance interests.
(2) Help to highlight and distribute available resources, tools and strategies for connecting with new groups of potential industry applicants.
(3) Connect with the various government offices, interest groups and individuals encouraging workforce growth, taking advantage of their work and using them to amplify ARSA’s own efforts for building the next generation of aviation professionals.
“Today was a lot of fun, but we’ve got to do a much better job getting the word out,” Levanto said. “I’m only here because [ARSA] happened to learn about this event via an offhand reference in an email on another topic. We can’t afford to have these secrets anymore; it’s time to start shouting from rooftops. If we do that from this rooftop, at 800 Independence Avenue, the aviation world will hear.”
Booz Allen Hamilton Transportation
Code Ninjas
D.C. Flight Club
FAA Aviation and Space Education
FAA Office of Accident Investigation and Prevention (AVP)
United Airlines
University of Maryland Robotics Team
Airport Surface Anomaly Investigation Capability
Aviation Career Academies
Forces in Flight (National Air & Space Museum)
NASAO Art Contest
Real World Design Challenge
The event provides a useful model for any industry stakeholder looking to engage with local students of any age. Coupled with a facility tour or school visit and with participation from local STEM and other groups promoting hands-on skills development, companies could partner with schools, Boy or Girl Scout troops or other community bodies to host similar events.
Stay tuned for more updates and resources from ARSA. In the meantime, visit www.faa.gov/education to see more information and resources regarding STEM and aviation skills outreach.
July 25, 2019
ARSA members should be accustomed to the association’s general encouragement to get involved in the community. For the sake of good corporate citizenship and long-term workforce development, there are plenty of reasons for aviation businesses to become familiar with the people and organizations around them.
In particular, involved companies should have open doors and regular exchange of ideas with local schools. This can mean supporting existing activities, participating in career days or visits and hosting field trips or other kinds of open houses for local students – an interesting way to let students get to know you and even build interest in your work (so they can do it someday).
The “Make a Windmill” exercise teaches kids about basic aerodynamics (and does not require a type certificate or completion of any FAA forms). Maintenance professionals could help students make a windmill, then talk about how the principles involved relate to aviation and connect it back to their work.
With the assistance of the FAA’s STEM Aviation and Space Education (AVSED) Outreach Program, ARSA is issuing a specific challenge to the aviation maintenance community: Teach at a local school.
Meeting this challenge doesn’t require a career change, but reaching out to a local school or schools (start with lower elementary – kindergartners provide a friendly, if distractible audience that you can visit and make an impact on for years to come) and following a few basic steps:
(1) Review the AVSED resources for educators (www.faa.gov/education/educators) and students (www.faa.gov/education/students).
(2) If you don’t already know any, find nearby schools. The National Center for Education Statistics has an online system for searching public school districts: nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch.
(3) Pick a school or schools and call the administration(s), explaining your goals and asking for the right point of contact within each school.
(4) Determine their level of interest and consider your own time and capability. You can offer to have your own team members visit for a “special activity” session for certain classes OR simply help connect teachers with AVSED resources.
(5) Do it! If your own team is going to “teach.” Just pick an activity – a good place to start is www.faa.gov/education/students/activities – print out whatever instructions or activity sheets you need, bring along any additional tools (or props from work you can show off) and go walk through it with the kids.
(6) Contact local media, share the experience through your own communications channels or use any other way you can to celebrate the activity.
(7) Follow up! Especially if you’ve just shared resources with the school, but even if you went there personally. Don’t make your engagement a one-time activity.
(8) Tell ARSA!
If you have any questions about school outreach in specific or workforce development efforts in general, contact Vice President of Operations Brett Levanto.
September 17, 2018
On Sept. 13, aviation industry leaders came together in the historic terminal of Washington’s Reagan National Airport for the FAA’s inaugural Aviation Workforce Symposium. The event promised expansive discussion of challenges facing both pilot and mechanic recruitment and retention; although cockpit personnel continue to dominate attention, significant voices called for action to develop technical talent on the ground.
In the opening discussion to “set the stage,” Brett Levanto, ARSA vice president of communications, highlighted the costs to industry posed by inability to find technically-skilled workers and illustrated the direct connection between human capital and business performance. On a day when most presenters celebrated isolated talent-development programs – a feudal system of limited success that one FAA speaker described as “[everyone] inventing the same wheel” – Levanto chose instead to pose hard questions.
“I have a homework assignment for everyone here,” Levanto said regarding the fundamental cause of the technical skills gap in aviation. “Ask your friends who have kids – ask yourself or your spouse if you have them – would you like your son or daughter to become an aircraft mechanic?”
Following up on his own question to attendees, Levanto explained the weakening focus on technical skills development and hands-on careers, which have been sacrificed in the name of “college-track” learning in primary and secondary schools, has produced a deficit in applied knowledge. Without basic understanding of tools, mechanical systems and repair fundamentals in potential applicants, both technical schools and employers are left scrambling to fill workforce gaps without a reliable pipeline of individuals ready to fill open positions.
To construct that pipeline, Levanto concluded, industry must think holistically about its maintenance workforce. In addition to individually-certificated A&P mechanics, which tend to dominate discussion, employers and policymakers must embrace and encourage growth of repairman and non-certificated technicians.
“We need to help the market and we need to help our students” Levanto said after the event. “When it’s hard to find people who can turn a wrench, it’s going to be hard to fill hangars and component shops with technicians and even harder to perform work to keep the world in flight.”
The association has been leading an industry-wide effort to provide ways to find those people. To see the status of the legislative push to pilot a maintenance workforce grant program, visit arsa.org/legislative/grant-program-action-center.
http://arsa.org/legislative/grant-program-action-center/
Maintenance also took center stage during a lunch address by Suzanne Markel, president and CEO of Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics (PIA). Markel used her 20-minute presentation to highlight PIA’s focus on providing useful aviation skills to students will minimizing cost burdens and complications. She underscored the challenges facing any organization seeking to develop technical talent, including duplicative and inconsistent FAA oversight, lack of available testing resources, restrictive curriculum and poor outreach to underrepresented populations.
In her closing, Markel urged industry stakeholders to collaborate in order to improve career pathways. She specifically noted the good work of ARSA and its colleagues at the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC) and implored symposium attendees to get involved in addressing the aviation community’s most-pressing challenge – growing a sustainable and healthy workforce.
The agenda included addresses from Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, Acting FAA Administrator Dan Elwell and Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson in addition to panels of industry and government leaders. “I’ve never seen such a collection of experience talking on a single issue,” Elwell, who remained in the room or nearby for most of the day, said in his closing remarks. Based on his observations from listening to other presenters as well as from discussions held during networking breaks, Elwell noted the group’s “violent agreement” that workforce development is a real and pressing challenge.
ARSA members have been increasingly clear in recent years that technician recruitment is one of the most pressing challenges facing the industry. The association has become a leading proponent of efforts to improve aviation skills. To see a brief overview of the issue and access some resources related to skills-based advocacy, check out the Sept. 7 “Hotline Highlight”:
July 31, 2018
On July 25, the House passed legislation to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education (CTE) Act, moving quickly to approve the Senate’s version of the bill. President Trump kept up the pace, signing the measure into law on July 31.
The “Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act” (H.R. 2353) was largely unchanged from the version passed by the House in June 2017. Having awaited Senate attention for more than a year, the upper chamber approved the measure within a month of its unanimous passage by the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee.
In general, the bill will give states more flexibility in designing CTE programs while establishing tighter timelines and performance indicators to measure the success of state efforts. The legislation also broadly enhances coordination between schools, businesses and government to ensure students graduate with skills local employers actually need, increasing student participation in work-based learning opportunities and promoting the use of industry-recognized credentials.
Maintenance providers have expressed growing concern about increasing difficulty finding workers with the technical skills necessary to work in aviation. As part of its ongoing efforts to address this shortage, ARSA joined a letter coordinated by the National Association of Manufacturers urging HELP Committee leadership to move quickly to enact a Perkins bill into law (see June 18 update below).
Once Congress completed its long work on the bill, its signature by the president was certain. After House passage, the White House doubled down on an early tweet celebrating the bill, applauding Congress for its “tremendous, bipartisan effort.”
On the heels of the VERY successful launch of the @WhiteHouse National Council for the American Worker, Congress should reauthorize #PerkinsCTE and ensure the American workforce remains stronger than EVER! #Jobs #Workforce
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 24, 2018
“By enacting [the bill] into law,” President Trump said in a July 25 statement, “we will continue to prepare students for today’s constantly shifting job market, and we will help employers find the workers they need to compete.”
The long-overdue reauthorization of the Perkins program represents a significant step towards providing states and communities with the resources needed to address the growing issue of a shortage of skilled labor across all industries. It also sets up Congress to take action of the ARSA-supported effort to pilot an aviation maintenance-focused workforce grant program.
To learn more about that effort, which also incentivizes local collaboration to develop needed skills, visit arsa.org/grant-program.
June 29, 2018
Legislation to improve federal career technical education (CTE) programs took an important step forward on June 26 with the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee’s unanimous approval of its Carl Perkins Act reauthorization bill. Senate committee action has been a long time coming: The House passed its version of a Perkins bill (H.R. 2353) by voice vote on June 23, 2017.
Maintenance providers have expressed growing concern about increasing difficulty finding workers with the technical skills necessary to work in aviation. As part of its ongoing efforts to address this shortage, ARSA joined a letter coordinated by the National Association of Manufacturers urging HELP Committee leadership to move quickly to enact a Perkins bill into law (see June 18 update below).
Among other things, the HELP Committee’s bill would give states more flexibility in designing career technical education programs, while establishing tighter timelines and performance indicators to measure the success of state efforts. Other broad objectives of the legislation are to enhance coordination between schools, businesses and government to ensure students graduate with skills local businesses actually need, increasing student participation in work-based learning opportunities and promoting the use of industry-recognized credentials.
Focusing on local collaboration has become a cornerstone of modern CTE policy. The association leveraged this interest in developing its independent legislation to pilot an AMT workforce grant program. For updates on the industry-wide effort to get that bill passed into law as part of the FAA reauthorization process, stay tuned to arsa.org/grant-program.
Given that workforce legislation has languished in the Senate for more than a year, the move by the HELP Committee is welcome news. Although the Senate’s agenda for the summer is jam packed, hopefully the growing need for more technical workers in many sectors, bipartisan and broad industry support for the bill and the Trump administration’s desire to get Perkins done this year will combine to help get the legislation over the finish line before the elections.
June 18, 2018
On June 14, ARSA joined more than 400 other organizations on a letter to Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) urging swift action to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.
Perkins is federal government’s primary investment mechanism for skills-based education programs – enabled through state-administered grants administered by the Department of Education. As chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), Sens. Alexander and Murray can move forward with consideration of the bill.
“Because employers are reporting a shortage of skilled workers to fill in-demand positions, ensuring that secondary and postsecondary institutions offer modern, quality and relevant career and technical education (CTE) programs remains a leading priority so that we can develop and grow our nation’s workforce,” the letter said. “As competition for high-skilled labor increases and as the U.S. economy reaches full employment, every effort must be made to close the skills gaps that many industries across all sectors face.”
In 2017, the House unanimously passed the “Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 2353).” That bill was largely similar to a previously-popular attempt to reauthorize Perkins – also in the House – and would enhance flexibility for how states use grant funding as well as increase the engagement of local employers in administering skill development programs.
Whether the Senate considers H.R. 2353 or develops its own legislation to be reconciled with the House version, the letter encouraged lawmakers to consider the same tenets:
Get Involved
Members of the aviation maintenance community can support skills development by including Perkins reauthorization in any outreach to their Senators: Use the ARSA Workforce Legislation Action Center to help move forward the association’s bill to create an AMT workforce grant program, then include general CTE program support in that outreach.
Maintenance providers can also help spread the word by using the Perkins coalition social media tool kit (either through company accounts or by distributing to employees).
To read the full letter, click here.
June 27, 2018
On June 22, the House of Representatives unanimously approved the “Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act.” It has been popular since its introduction: ARSA and a broad range of industry and academic groups have praised its policies and not a single member of the Education and Workforce Committee dissented when considering it in May.
H.R. 2353, which bears the same title as legislation that passed the House in 2016 by 400 votes but saw no action in the Senate, builds on recent reforms to the K-12 education system and enhancements to federal resources for workforce development in order to enhance flexibility for states and increase engagement of technical employers. Like its predecessor from the 114th Congress, this year’s legislation seeks to:
(1) Empower state and local community leaders by simplifying application requirements and maximizing flexibility.
(2) Improve alignment with in-demand jobs by building industry-sector partnerships.
(3) Increase transparency and accountability by giving a voice to students, parents and stakeholders in assessing programs.
(4) Ensure a limited federal role by minimizing the authority of the secretary of education.
The morning of the House vote, ARSA Executive Vice President Christian A. Klein delivered a message supporting the bill to the Hill. “Like so many other sectors of the economy, the aviation maintenance industry is facing a chronic skilled worker shortage,” Klein said, addressing staffers working labor and workforce issues. “While the skills gap won’t be closed entirely by federal policy, [ARSA believes] that H.R. 2253 is an important step in the right direction and that it will significantly improve coordination and flexibility as businesses, schools and governmental entities work together to better align technical education with in-demand jobs.”
The legislation now heads to the Senate. Stay tuned to ARSA for updates as the process moves forward.
To read a fact sheet on the bill, click here.
To read a detailed bill summary, click here.
To read the bill, click here.
May 17, 2017
ARSA Executive Vice President Christian A. Klein released the following statement in response to the House Education & Workforce Committee’s unanimous passage of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 2353). The legislation would reauthorize federal career technical education programs with the goal of better preparing workers for high demand careers. The association recently estimated that if open technician positions in the industry go unfilled, repair stations could miss out on as much as $1.95 billion in economic activity in 2017.
“ARSA commends Chairwoman Foxx, Ranking Member Scott and all the House Education & Workforce Committee members for working together to make career technical education a top priority.
“The aviation maintenance industry’s technical worker shortage is undermining productivity and growth. Well-paying aviation technician jobs are going unfilled because companies can’t find workers with the necessary skills. Of course, our industry is not alone in facing this challenge.
“By itself, reauthorizing the Perkins Act won’t solve the problem, but it’s a significant step in the right direction. By, among other things, improving coordination between businesses, schools and government the bill will help ensure Americans are better prepared for 21st century careers in high-tech sectors like ours.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the House Education & Workforce Committee’s leadership to steer this important legislation to enactment.”
May 9, 2017
On May 4, Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) introduced the “Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act.” The bill, which bears the same title as legislation that passed the House in 2016 by 400 votes but saw no action in the Senate, builds on recent reforms to the K-12 education system and enhancements to federal resources for workforce development in order to enhance flexibility for states and increase engagement of technical employers.
According to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, which is chaired by 2017 ARSA Legislative Leadership Award Winner Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), the proposal is largely identical to the 2016 version (ARSA’s legislative team is currently performing a side-by-side comparison). Like its predecessor from the 114th Congress, this year’s legislation seeks to:
(1) Empower state and local community leaders by simplifying application requirements and maximizing flexibility.
(2) Improve alignment with in-demand jobs by building industry-sector partnerships.
(3) Increase transparency and accountability by giving a voice to students, parents and stakeholders in assessing programs.
(4) Ensure a limited federal role by minimizing the authority of the secretary of education.
Each of these pillars will surely remain popular with industry members. In July, 2016, ARSA joined more than 250 other organizations on a letter to Congress praising the same values in that attempt to rebuild the nation’s career and technical education system. The association and its allies have long argued that responsive federal workforce policy should provide states and communities with the tools necessary to stimulate the growth of skills that put students into jobs – this bill pursues that end.
In addition to the general attention on employer needs and local flexibility that has been sought by industry, the bill utilizes programmatic structures from the Every Student Succeeds Act and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. By taking advantage of the systems within these laws, both of which passed Congress in the last three years with bipartisan support, the new bill will help minimize burden on local governments, schools and employers while making efficient use of existing educational and workforce resources.
Given the priority level of technical workforce policy in this Congress, the bill will likely be taken up by the committee in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to ARSA for updates and ways to get involved.
To read a fact sheet on the bill, click here.
To read a detailed bill summary, click here.
To read the bill, click here.
March 15, 2017
Rep. Virginia Foxx – Image Credit: foxx.house.gov
Aviation maintenance industry executives gathered on Capitol Hill March 15 to honor House Education & Workforce Committee Chairman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) with ARSA’s 2017 Legislative Leadership Award.
During more than a decade in Congress, former community college president Foxx has established herself as champion for career technical education (CTE). She was a leading force behind efforts to modernize and reform the nation’s workforce development system through the 2014 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and has continued to work to improve CTE through Perkins Act reauthorization.
Aviation maintenance companies have consistently identified the skilled worker shortage as a major strategic threat to the industry. Fifty-six percent of respondents to ARSA’s 2017 member survey said they plan to add positions in the coming year, but industry leaders are concerned that a shortage of qualified applicants my restrict MRO sector growth. Eighty percent of ARSA survey respondents reported having difficulty finding workers to fill technical positions over the past two years and half reported their companies had open, unfilled technical jobs.
“Maintenance providers throughout the country owe Chairwoman Foxx a debt of gratitude for her tireless efforts to improve CTE,” ARSA Executive Vice President Christian A. Klein said. “ARSA looks forward to continuing to work with her in the 115th Congress to shed light on the nation’s skills crisis and work towards solving it.”
The award was presented during ARSA’s Legislative Day, which is held each March in conjunction with the association’s Annual Repair Symposium. To see what else happened during the event, visit ARSA.org/symposium.
March 3, 2017
The Talent Solutions Coalition (TSC), an initiative of the National Center for Aviation Training, has invited the maintenance community to attend its Forum on Talent Planning Management in Wichita, Kansas on March 23 and 24.
As part of its broader effort to grow the aviation maintenance workforce, ARSA has been working with the coalition for the past year. Developed as a resource for employers, TSC operates as a national talent supply chain for aviation manufacturing and maintenance businesses. It has received national attention in recent months, featured in AMT Magazine and most recently in Inside Higher Education. The articles will provide further insight into this important initiative and are available at talentsolutionscoalition.org/news-media.
For more information about the forum and to register, click here or call the coalition’s office at 844.879.5631.
Key Presenting Organizations
| Airlines for America (A4A) | ExpressJet Airlines | |
| Vincennes University | National Center for Aviation Training | |
| Pima Community College | St. Louis Community College | |
| SpaceTEC Partners, Inc. | US Chamber of Commerce Foundation | |
| Inside Higher Education | National Business Aviation Association |
Agenda Highlights
Day One, Thursday, March 23
Day Two, Friday, March 24
November 1, 2016
On Oct. 31 and Nov. 1, Airlines for America hosted an aircraft maintenance technician career forum at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Event participants, including representatives from ARSA as well as several of its associate members, discussed the personal investment of the aviation workforce and how to expand on this commitment to grow new talent.
The agenda included regulatory, communications and human resources panel discussions as well as interview sessions with aviation students. Through many of these activities, participants highlighted the importance of personal relationships to inspiring current AMTs. For technicians and students, having family or friends with maintenance experience is a key driver towards a career in the field.
While this is a great advantage when it works – recruits brought in through personal contacts are often deeply committed to aviation – these networks alone cannot provide the expanding pools of talent needed to support the maintenance community. To pursue that end, the forum provided a venue to explore STEM engagement, apprentice programs, public relations, academic partnerships and human capital efforts to attract, enlist and retain the next generation of aviation professionals.
Specific obstacles the industry faces include changing demographics, the impact of technology on hands-on experience (e.g., fewer and fewer cars are fixed in their owner’s garage) and school curricula skewing away from technical skillsets. Presenters from airlines, industry groups and the FAA provided best practices, lessons learned and resources for overcoming these gaps.
Brett Levanto, ARSA’s vice president of communications, moderated a discussion with 2016 ARSA Scholarship winner Tony Tran, who provided guidance to the group through his personal insights as well as survey data gathered from his classmates at Chaffey Community College. Levanto then joined Aviation Week’s Ed Hazelwood to brainstorm how to address the “brand” of AMT careers and defeat negative perceptions of technical work.
Resources (and examples) for aviation employers highlighted during the meeting:
Stay tuned for more on how ARSA and its allies are working to develop the maintenance workforce of the future. For more information about this work, or to share input regarding your own recruitment efforts, contact Levanto at brett.levanto@arsa.org.
September 16, 2016
On Sept. 13, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 5587). The bill, which would reauthorize federal investment in technical education programs, passed 405-5.
On Aug. 19, ARSA delivered a letter to the House urging strong support and swift approval of H.R. 5587, the bipartisan legislation that would reauthorize, reform and improve the Carl D. Perkins Act, which has been left untouched for a decade. The bill is a significant step to addressing the skills crisis that plagues just about every U.S. economic sector, from aviation to manufacturing to construction. Specifically, the legislation includes much needed reforms to the Perkins Act, including:
The legislation now awaits Senate action. ARSA encourages members of the aviation maintenance community to get active in support of CTE overhaul. To weigh-in with your lawmakers in support of Perkins Act reauthorization visit: ofmk.freeenterpriseaction.com/VsvkKKI.
Stay tuned to ARSA for updates and keep up-to-date on the debate at perkinscte.com or by following @PerkinsCTE on Twitter.
August 22, 2016
On Aug. 19, ARSA delivered a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives urging strong support and swift approval of bipartisan legislation to reauthorize, reform and improve the Carl D. Perkins Act, the primary dedicated federal funding source for career and technical education (CTE) programs.
The association’s membership consistently cites the skilled technical worker shortage as a top policy concern. In 2014, ARSA and the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC) commissioned a report by researchers at the College of William & Mary examining the aviation industry’s workforce issues. The study, Policy Solutions for a Stronger Technical Workforce, found that with expanding global markets and increased demand for a highly skilled, government-certificated labor force, aviation businesses must overcome looming retirements of more experienced employees, skill gaps and regulatory restrictions on training programs to service current customers and grow to meet new demand.
“Finding the right people with the right skills is difficult, keeping them is even harder,” said Brett Levanto, ARSA’s vice president of communications, nothing three quarters of respondents to the association’s most-recent member survey reported difficulty finding qualified candidates. “Almost universally, our members are optimistic about their business futures. Aviation markets are growing and international partners are coming together, but repair stations can’t be sure they’ll have the technicians they need to take advantage.”
The bipartisan Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 5587) is a significant step to addressing the skills crisis that plagues just about every U.S. economic sector, from aviation to manufacturing to construction. Specifically, the legislation includes much needed reforms to the Carl D. Perkins Act, which Congress hasn’t reauthorized since 2006, including:
In the letter, ARSA’s Vice President of Legislative Affairs Daniel B. Fisher wrote, “Simply put, by making technical education a priority, Congress can help better prepare workers for well-paying careers, ensure that U.S. companies are able to seize new business opportunities and make the United States more competitive in the global economy. Businesses, schools and government officials must collectively commit to tackling the technical education crisis at all levels, and you can take a great step towards enabling that commitment by supporting and swiftly passing H.R. 5587.”
The legislation, which was unanimously approved by the House Education and the Workforce Committee in July, could receive consideration on the House floor when Congress returns to Capitol Hill after Labor Day.
The association encourages members of the aviation maintenance community to get active in support of CTE overhaul. To weigh-in with your lawmakers in support of Perkins Act reauthorization visit: ofmk.freeenterpriseaction.com/VsvkKKI.
August 2, 2016
Boeing’s 2016 Pilot and Technician Outlook has provided the aviation community with its annual midsummer reminder that the industry’s workforce needs are growing faster than its ability to fill vacancies. The report forecasts the global commercial aviation industry will need more than two million new pilots, technicians and cabin crew members by 2035.
Future demand for maintenance will be affected by improved airplane reliability and a resulting expansion of check intervals, but expanding fleets – driven by economic growth – and market globalization will push the need for more aircraft mechanics. As a result, Boeing indicates the industry will need 679,000 new technicians over the next two decades.
The report’s findings, including both expected demand for new workers and the global dispersion of that demand, are consistent with ARSA’s 2016 Global Fleet and MRO Market Assessment. Such forecasts are common and all point to a basic point: As the global civil aviation market continues to grow, keeping the flying public safely aloft will require the dedicated effort of well-trained men and women supported by a healthy and cooperative international industry.
Get Involved
In the United States – click here to tell American lawmakers to support training programs and regulatory structures that foster technical skills.
Around the world – learn about ICAO’s Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Task Force (ARSA is a member) and the work it performs on behalf of the global industry.
At home – show a friend or colleague You Can’t Fly Without Us – The World of Aviation Maintenance.
July 18, 2016
On July 7, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce unanimously approved the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 5587). The bill, introduced on June 28 by Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.) and Katherine Clark (D-Ma.), reauthorizes and reforms the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, which is the central federal investment mechanism for training in high-skill, in-demand jobs.
On the same day the committee voted, ARSA joined more than 250 other organizations in a letter to the panel’s Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.) and Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-Va.), urging action on the bill. The industry-wide coalition of signatories highlighted the broad appeal of career and technical education (CTE) improvements. Not only are all industries suffering from the inability to recruit and retain technically-skilled workers, the impacts of the skills gap on any individual sector inevitably ripple up and down customer supply chains.
The association has long argued that responsive federal workforce policy should provide states and communities with the tools necessary to stimulate the growth of skills that put students into jobs. The reauthorization bill provides a structure closely aligned with the goals expressed in ARSA’s legislative priorities: utilizing Perkins as a tool to further empower states to nurture the abilities in demand by employers. The legislation would do that by:
The bill now awaits consideration by the full House. Stay tuned to ARSA as the process moves forward and click here to tell your members of Congress to help build the technical workforce of the future.
For more information about the bill and the committee’s work, click here.
June 29, 2016
On June 28, leaders of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce unveiled the “Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act.” Introduced by Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-Pa.) and Katherine Clark (D-Ma.), the legislation would reauthorize and reform the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, which is the central federal investment mechanism for high-skill training.
Since 1984, the Perkins Act has provided federal support to state and local career and technical education (CTE) programs. Its grants have offered students the opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to compete for jobs in a broad range of fields, such as manufacturing, maintenance, health care and technology. Unaltered since 2006, the law no longer reflects the realities and challenges facing students and workers.
Through the bill, committee members seek to build on recent K-12 education reforms in order to:
On Jan. 8, ARSA joined more than 350 other organizations in a letter urging Congress to reauthorize Perkins. With businesses in all industrial sectors struggling to find technically-capable workers, responsive federal workforce policy should provide states and communities with the tools necessary to stimulate the growth of skills that put students into jobs. Congress must prioritize technical education and utilize Perkins as a tool to further empower states to support needed skills. Stay tuned as the bill – and the long-expected version from the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee – move forward through the legislative process.
Take a moment to tell Congress that the aviation maintenance industry needs help. Click here to send a message to your elected officials, remind them that they can’t fly without us and we can’t fly without skilled workers.
Use the following links to learn more about the Strengthening CTE for the 21st Century Act:
| Fact Sheet | Bill Summary | Full Text |
January 11, 2016
On Jan. 8, ARSA joined more than 350 other organizations in a letter urging Congress to reauthorize the Carl. D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. Perkins supports career and technical education (CTE) programs through grants to states. It is long-overdue for overhaul and has come under fire in recent years for being out of touch with the needs of the modern workforce.
The broad show of industry support for action on Perkins represents the growing recognition that technical, hands-on training provides students with more opportunity and employers with essential human capital. The law has long been the federal government’s central tool in supporting efforts by schools and businesses to grow essential skills; the association and its allies asked lawmakers to enhance areas that can boost the modern economy.
The group contends the government can most effectively utilize federal spending on technical programs when curricula consider workforce demand. To ensure such consideration exists, the letter asked that reauthorization legislation align CTE programs with the needs of labor markets and support collaboration between educators and employers.
“CTE is an effective tool for improving student outcomes and helps prepare both secondary and postsecondary students with the necessary academic, technical and employability skills required for successful entry into the workforce,” the letter said. “Indeed, CTE prepares students both for college and careers.”
The association will continue to support this broad coalition of businesses and industry groups to build the right educational infrastructure. After graduating from programs rooted in strong CTE skills, students will have options. By taking advantage of federal policy and working locally to meet labor demand, so will aviation businesses.
Do your part: Visit ARSAaction.org and tell your elected officials to help build the technical workforce of the future.
December 14, 2015
On Dec. 10, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (S. 1177) after it passed both houses of Congress by overwhelming, bipartisan majorities. The legislation replaces No Child Left Behind, which became law in 2002 and was much maligned for over-reliance on standardized testing to assess and incentivize school and student performance.
By 2020, S. 1177 will increase total appropriations for early and secondary education programs by nearly 12 percent, with money identified for teacher development, school improvement and programs to target disadvantaged and underperforming students. Although the law maintains the testing structure so unpalatable under No Child Left Behind, it shifts authority for mitigating sub-par results on those tests to state education authorities.
The new law places high value on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs. By including technology and engineering into assessment regimes, allowing states to fund professional development and pay differentials for teachers of STEM-related subjects and creating standards for the use of federal funds in support of science and math, S. 1177 broadly empowers schools to provide useful skills for elementary and secondary students.
For the aviation maintenance industry, this is an important development. As reported in a 2013 Brookings Institution study, half of all STEM jobs are industrial and available to workers without a four-year college degree. The Every Student Succeeds Act encourages schools to provide all students with a solid foundation in these disciplines. The market for future technical workers – including aviation maintenance professionals – will be strengthened by core training in hands-on, applied skills.
For a complete assessment of S. 1177’s commitment to STEM programs, review the STEM Education Coalition’s analysis of the law.
Now that Congress and the president have upgraded the nation’s early and secondary education system, attention will turn to the Higher Education and Carl D. Perkins Acts. Review ARSA’s assessment (“Congress’ Homework,” below) of the work ahead to reauthorize those laws as the association supports efforts to enhance the system’s focus on technical skills.
August 20, 2015
Congressional inaction and its occasional distraction have delayed the reauthorization of three key pieces of education legislation: the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Higher Education Act (HEA) and the Carl D. Perkins Perkins Act. In order to build and maintain a strong workforce, industry must be supported by education policy that ensures high school, college, technical school and community college graduates have employable skills.
Get to know the bills:
ESEA
Commonly referred to as No Child Left Behind, ESEA accounts for $60 billion in federal education funding and is the primary law governing K-12 education in the United States. It does this largely by setting federal standards for testing and accountability for failing schools. While both the House and the Senate have passed reauthorizations of ESEA, they unfortunately haven’t settled on a single bill. The House’s bill also contains a provision on portability – the ability of funding to “follow” students to the school of their choice – which would likely draw opposition from Democrats and a veto from the White House.
HEA
The Higher Education Act supports college affordability and seeks to make schools more accountable to graduation rates and job prospects which is good for students as well as employers, but since 2008 there have only been extensions with no new long-term reauthorizations – a theme of all three pieces of education legislation. Unfortunately, policy limitations prevent many technical training programs from dipping in to the large pot of grands and other funding assistance designed to help student pay for education.
Perkins
The Perkins Act is designed to support career and technical education (CTE) programs through grants to states. It has come under fire in recent years as being out of touch with the needs of the modern workforce, especially with regards to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.
Looking Ahead
While there has been significant action on ESEA, the conference period required for the House and Senate to agree on a single bill could be lengthy. Less progress has been made on the other bills. Both the House and Senate are currently holding hearings on HEA reauthorization but as of yet neither chamber has agreed to any legislation. Serious discussion of the Perkins Act will likely fall in line behind the other two bills.
[For reference, download the STEM Education Coalition’s reference guide on these three bills.]
Here’s what you can do to take action on technical workforce issues:
July 21, 2015
On July 20, Boeing released its 2015 Pilot and Technician Outlook. The report forecasts the global commercial aviation industry will need more than one million new workers – 558,000 pilots and 609,000 maintenance technicians – to meet unprecedented demand between now and 2034.
“As global economies expand and airlines take delivery of tens of thousands of new commercial jetliners over the next 20 years,” Boeing’s report said, “there will be unprecedented demand for people to pilot and maintain these airplanes.”
The long-term demand for maintenance skills equates to roughly 30,000 new technicians per year, with need in every corner of the world. As already seen in ARSA’s 2015 Global Fleet and MRO Market Assessment, strong growth in Asia will lead global demand for the foreseeable future; more than one-third of all new technicians over the next two decades will fill positions in the region.
In North America, more than 100,000 new maintainers will be needed over the forecast period – 5,500 new positions each year and 19 percent of total growth. This addition to the existing workforce does not capture recruitment necessary to replace aging workers, whose retirements have been long-expected to deplete the industry’s existing personnel base.
The overall lesson is clear and has now become oft-repeated: As the global civil aviation market continues to grow, keeping the flying public safely aloft will require the dedicated effort of well-trained men and women supported by a healthy and cooperative international industry.
Get Involved
In the United States – visit ARSAaction.org and tell American lawmakers to support training programs and regulatory structures that foster technical skills.
Around the world – learn about ICAO’s Next Generation of Aviation Professionals Task Force (ARSA is a member) and the resource it provides the global industry.
May 19, 2015
On May 14, the STEM Education Coalition welcomed ARSA as a new member of its Leadership Council. Alongside the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC), ARSA’s new position will give the aviation maintenance industry a voice in the science, technology, engineering and math universe.
Though many think of STEM in relation to advanced academic degrees, the majority of STEM-related work is performed by hands-on technicians and specialists. In 2013, the Brookings Institution determined that half of all American STEM jobs are available to workers without a four-year college degree. The STEM Education Coalition works aggressively to raise awareness about the importance of preparing students for this kind of highly-technical work.
STEM has long been associated with rocket scientists, the coalition’s Executive Director James Brown explained at ARSA’s 2015 Annual Repair Symposium, but the future of the technical workforce depends on the people who build and maintain the rockets.
Get Involved
In addition to the small Leadership Council, the STEM Coalition supports an expansive collection of affiliate members – over 600 organizations. By signing up you will connect your staff with key updates as well as the opportunity to add your voice to letters, petitions and initiatives on behalf of the technical workforce.
Click here to get started.
May 5, 2015
ARSA and the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC) have joined together to support Hire Our Aviation Heroes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping veterans transition into civilian aviation careers.
On June 24, that relationship will bear its first fruit when Aviation Heroes hosts an online job fair. The event will help employers build a pipeline of high-quality, well-trained aviation talent right into their workspaces. For veterans, it will be an invaluable first step towards building a new career on the foundation of their military training and years of hands-on experience.
“An online job fair is a perfect way for aviation employers and recruiters in the industry to create a live connection to transitioning aviation veterans,” Aviation Heroes Executive Director Bret Morriss said. “On the day of the event, employers chat in real-time with jobseekers in one-on-one conversations while getting a snapshot of their resume and background. It’s highly interactive and provides employers with much more insight into the candidate.”
In addition to learning about career opportunities, job seekers can build their professional network and meet front-line recruiters who are making hiring decisions in the weeks and months to come all within the comforts of their home or office.
“Hire Our Aviation Heroes is doing great things to help transition our veterans and provide a vital resource for the aviation community,” said Crystal Maguire, managing associate for Obadal, Filler, MacLeod and Klein, the firm that manages both ARSA and ATEC. “From the cockpit to the control tower to the maintenance line, businesses are hungry for workers with the right skills and training to serve the global flying public. On June 24, Hire Our Aviation Heroes is hosting a great event to help feed that need.”
Click to visit the Aviation Heroes website.
February 26, 2015
ARSA and the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC) have released a new report examining the technical worker shortage facing the aviation industry. The study, Policy Solutions for a Stronger Technical Workforce, was authored by researchers at the College of William and Mary’s Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy and sheds new light on the challenges of finding, retaining and growing a world-class aviation maintenance workforce.
In the face of expanding global markets and increased demand for a highly skilled, government-certificated labor force, business must overcome the looming retirements of more experienced employees, skill gaps, regulatory limitations on training programs and – most importantly – data sources that are inadequately designed for defining the problem.
In seeking to analyze personnel, certification and education data at the regional level, the researchers encountered a familiar hurdle: frustratingly insufficient data that is often inaccurate and inconsistently captured.
Despite these limitations, as well as the unreliable reporting of national statistics, the analysis made clear that different regions of the United States face varied realities in terms of technical workforce development. As a result, the authors recommend companies and interest groups build strategic partnerships on local and regional levels between employers, educational institutions and community and government organizations.
“This report is all about defining a problem: the desperate need for more qualified, well-trained men and women to funnel into aviation careers,” said Ryan Goertzen, ATEC’s president and president of Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology. “To achieve that we must figure out how to really capture what’s going on in the workforce. Incorrect data does not help anyone and masks the real problem facing our industry today: finding skilled workers.”
The regional approach taken by the researchers provides a blueprint for the aviation community to grapple with workforce challenges. “The research team took advantage of some great examples from across the industry to give us this basic roadmap for success: think globally, act locally,” said Christian A Klein, ARSA’s executive vice president. “I know that’s an old, familiar phrase, but it’s especially useful here. The only way for businesses, government and teaching institutions to solve big, daunting national workforce problems is to look in their surrounding communities and get active in a planned, strategic way.”
“We have a passion for aviation, of course, but first and foremost we have a responsibility to our students,” Goertzen continued, speaking of the aviation maintenance training schools represented by ATEC. “We know we’re giving them valuable skills and preparing them for success in a number of technical fields, but for us true success is getting our graduates employed in the aerospace industry. This report is a part of that work.”
January 13, 2015
On Jan. 9, the White House unveiled a proposal to make two years of community college free for many students. At the same time, President Obama announced a new American Technical Training Fund to prepare Americans for better-paying jobs by connecting skills development to the needs of employers.
Building on a model that has been used by Tennessee and Chicago, the president’s America’s College Promise proposal would allow students to attend community college with two-years of tuition paid for by federal and state governments.
Given the federal budget situation and the ongoing debate about the proper role of the federal government, there are considerable questions about whether making community college a new entitlement is the right course of action. But ARSA commends the administration for highlighting the country’s skilled, technical worker shortage and looks forward to working with Congress and the president on this important issue. Simply put, the aviation maintenance industry depends on trained technicians and there are important opportunities for the federal government to help get more workers into the pipeline.
Stay tuned for more updates as the association continues its advocacy on workforce policy issues in the months ahead. For more information on the president’s proposal, please visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/01/09/fact-sheet-white-house-unveils-america-s-college-promise-proposal-tuitio
December 9. 2014
The major ICAO initiative dedicated to the international aviation workforce crisis finally has a voice for the maintenance community. The Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP) task force convened in Montreal for its annual meeting on Dec. 1, and ARSA took its seat at the table.
The group’s mission is to ensure that enough qualified and competent aviation professionals are available to operate, manage and maintain the future global air transport system. Director of Operations Brett Levanto joined an international corps of private industry, government and academic representatives to pursue that end.
The task force operates through three standing working groups focusing on research, outreach and programs implementation. These interrelated efforts combine to provide the most comprehensive suite of aviation workforce resources for both employers and aspiring airmen. After participating with both the research and outreach groups, Levanto presented some of ARSA’s tools dedicated to workforce development. He introduced the repair station industry’s web-based information portal AVMRO.arsa.org and offered a sneak peak of the forthcoming AVMRO documentary produced by the association.
Maintenance was also represented by Dr. Raymond Thompson, associated dean of Western Michigan University and representative of the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC). In close partnership, ARSA and ATEC are committed to providing maintenance providers the right people to support the future of international aviation.
Read More:
Too Cool for Flight School? (AviationPros, Dec. 4, 2014)
NGAP Website
NGAP Symposium Website
August 15, 2014
Maintaining a world-class workforce is an everyday challenge for ARSA’s members. Repair stations invest heavily in finding the right people, with the right skills and certifications and keeping them current on regulatory and technical issues.
Unfortunately, the numbers say that even more trials lay ahead. As highlighted in a recent article by Dr. Tara Harl in Aircraft Maintenance Technology Magazine, the Department of Employment and Economic Development projects that the aviation industry will have more than 1 million job openings in the next 10 years worldwide. Looming retirements, changing demographics and the lure of other industries will make recruiting and training more difficult – and more important – than ever. “Fundamentally, this means, there will not be enough well-qualified, trained and certified personnel to meet the needs of current and retiring personnel replacements,” Harl said.
There are people who want to work; the challenge is turning them from just “people” into a “qualified, technically trained and government certificated work force.” This takes time, effort and resources from both businesses and job seekers. In the educational world, there are groups dedicated to growing the aviation maintenance workforce and venues to put it on display. The Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC) is a partnership of more than 150 FAA-certificated training schools across the country. The council’s mission is to help its members get skilled workers out of the classroom and onto the maintenance line. The Aerospace Maintenance Competition pits teams of technicians, engineers and students in a test of their combined abilities; “a stage to highlight the knowledge, skill and integrity that is the foundation of today’s and tomorrow’s AMTs and AMEs.”
Businesses must take an active role in building the aviation maintenance workforce. Potential and current employees need to continually invest in skills and capabilities. In addition to powering the industry growth projected by the models and forecasts, the product is a fulfilling career, a healthy industry and safety in the air — no matter the form of the aircraft.
Read More:
The Perfect Storm of Aviation Work Force Issues (AviationPros, 8/5/2014)
Growing People off the Spreadsheet (AviationPros, 8/8/2014)
Aviation Maintenance Careers: We Can’t Fly Without You
July 8, 2014
On July 9, the House of Representatives passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) by a 415-6 vote.
“ARSA commends bipartisan congressional action to approve the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act,” said Daniel Fisher, vice president of legislative affairs. “The U.S. aviation maintenance industry is growing, yet year-after-year ARSA members cite skilled worker shortages as one of the top challenges facing their companies. The legislation is a step forward toward updating the federal government’s outdated workforce training regime. To build upon this effort, Congress, working with the FAA and industry, must modernize the Federal Aviation Regulation’s part 147 to allow aviation maintenance technical schools to produce the next generation of qualified skilled workers.”
The bill is now ready for the president’s signature.
March 25, 2014
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are shining a rare spotlight on a problem that has plagued the aviation maintenance industry for years: the technical worker shortage. While the federal government could be doing much more to address this economy-wide crisis, Congress is expected to take a step in the right direction the week with passage of legislation to overhaul skilled worker programs and replace the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).
The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) (H.R. 803) eliminates duplicative workforce programs, streamlines many of the burdensome requirements that hamstring the existing outdated workforce system and allows for increased incumbent worker training. Additionally, the legislation will provide greater flexibility to state, local, and regional boards to tailor services to an area’s specific employment needs. The Senate approved WIOA by a vote of 95 to three on June 25.
H.R. 803 is scheduled for House consideration this week and should pass with bipartisan support. While modest in scope, the legislation takes important steps toward addressing worker shortages and ensuring the federal government is using limited resources to give future employees in-demand skills.
To view a summary of key provisions of the Senate version of WIOA visit: http://www.murray.senate.gov/public/_cache/files/1864afcb-c7e5-48a5-85e4-9e4904688e42/wioa-onepager.pdf
