US aerospace chiefs are increasingly worried about sustaining a viable aerospace industry workforce, they told a Washington DC summit Thursday.
“We’re short 500 mechanics,” AAR Corp chairman and CEO David Storch said at the US Chamber of Commerce 11thAnnual Aviation Summit D. The company does roughly 3.8 million hrs. of maintenance a year. “Each of us has the obligation and responsibility … to make sure that future workforce is out there for us,” he said.
Initiatives such as getting the younger generation excited about aviation, as well as investing in training and working with local institutions, are measures that may be critical to the industry going forward. “We don’t pay attention here, we won’t have an industry,” Storch said.
Airbus Americas chairman T. Allan McArtor added, “We do have an obligation to be actively involved. We have to generate first the interest … then we have to shape the curriculum and course content.”
Rockwell Collins chairman, president and CEO Clayton Jones said, “Most of the very large, iconic businesses … are not in a good position in terms of hiring and growing because of the defense side of it. That’s going to ultimately hurt all of aviation.”
He added, “We have to stop the bleeding—no matter what side you are—of significant reductions.”
Article Source : ATW Daily News
No comments:
Post a Comment