To replace those experienced mechanics and technicians, the aviation industry will need an influx of younger workers. And that’s not always an easy sell, according to Gary Peterson, director of the Transport Workers Union of America’s (TWU) Air Division.

Still reeling from 9/11

In an exclusive interview with the Satair Knowledge Hub, Peterson said there are a number of reasons behind the aircraft mechanic shortage. For one thing, airline hiring in the US has historically been cyclical, with massive bubbles of hiring followed by periods of not much activity until those from the previous bubble started retiring.

Peterson himself was hired as a mechanic by American Airlines in 1992 at the tail end of a hiring boom. “Now, we’re entering the early phase of my generation’s bubble,” he said.

Peterson’s generation of mechanics and technicians was also greatly impacted by 9/11 and he said its effects are still being felt today.

“After 9/11, a lot of carriers went through bankruptcy so there were wage and benefit cuts throughout the industry,” he said. “A lot of people left the industry and a lot of younger people looked elsewhere because it was no longer as enticing of a career as it had been. A lot of aviation schools and programmes also started to fail or began marketing the A&P certification to other industries.”

Prior to 9/11, the Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certificate was more or less confined to the airline industry. But after 9/11, the A&P schools needed to find places for their students and began pitching their graduates to building trades, energy companies, hospitals, and elevator constructors, among others. These other sectors were more than happy to snatch up the qualified workers, Peterson said.

“I can tell you without any hesitation that other industries are capitalizing on the airframe and powerplant trade schools and people coming out of the industry,” he said. “Airlines now have competition and that’s a really big piece of this.”

Justin Madden is the executive director of government affairs at the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), an independent labour union representing maintenance technicians across the United States. He agreed that other industries have their eyes set on aircraft mechanics.

“The education and skillset that an aircraft mechanic possesses is one that is translatable and desired by other industries,” Madden told the Satair Knowledge Hub in an exclusive interview. “Our educational partners tell us that graduating mechanics have been offered positions with theme parks, hospitals, and emerging technologies like commercial space and UAS [unmanned aircraft systems, ed.] a to name a few.”

By 2016, an estimated 20 percent of all newly-educated A&P graduates in the US took jobs outside of aviation, according to the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC).

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Why aren't there more young aircraft mechanics?