WE HAVE TO MAKE AEROSPACE EASIER TO FIND
One of the challenges we face is that our industry can be difficult to see from the outside.
Most people understand pilots and engineers. Far fewer understand the enormous ecosystem of careers required to get an airplane into the sky.
Machining, composites, testing, quality, procurement, logistics, finance, HR, sales, software, automation and hundreds of other roles all contribute to aerospace.
If you ' re not already connected to this industry, how would you know those opportunities exist?
We have to get better at showing people where they fit.
That means getting into classrooms. Hosting facility tours. Talking to students before they ' re making career decisions. Reaching people in other industries who have transferable skills. And telling a much broader story about what a career in aerospace can look like.
But awareness alone isn ' t enough. We also have to be willing to open the door.
SOMEONE HAS TO BE THE FIRST " YES "
I frequently hear companies talk about how difficult it is to find qualified people while simultaneously posting positions that require several years of industry experience.
For some positions, that experience is absolutely necessary. But it cannot be the expectation for every position.
Someone gave each of us our first opportunity.
If we want the next generation of aerospace workers, more companies have to be willing to be that first opportunity for someone else.
Internships are an obvious place to start. They give students exposure to the industry while giving employers an opportunity to develop talent before graduation.
But we also need true entry-level positions. We need pathways for recent graduates, people coming out of training programs and career changers bringing skills from other industries.
And as technology changes our industry, that becomes even more important.
Automation, AI and digital manufacturing are changing the skills aerospace companies need. At the same time, talented people from technology and other sectors are looking for new opportunities.
Aerospace should be competing for those people, not waiting for them to find us.
THIS IS AN INDUSTRY-WIDE RESPONSIBILITY
Solving the workforce challenge cannot fall on HR departments alone.
Industry associations, employers, schools, workforce organizations and individual aerospace professionals all have a role to play.
OCTOBER | NOVEMBER ISSUE NO. 53 49