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NEXTGEN
AVIATORS
by Lance Phillips AN IMMERSIVE PROGRAM SEEKING
TO SPARK FUTURE AVIATION WORKERS
A s an industry in the 21st century, aviation is facing vast challenges, some without much, if any, precedent. Both general and commercial aviation are seeing demand rise, but almost across the board, the companies supporting all this new demand are experiencing workforce shortages – shortages affecting not only the pilot population but also the technicians and other service professionals who keep our aircraft flying properly. Consulting firm Oliver Wyman shows that since the COVID-19 pandemic, 33,000 fewer people working in the U.S. aviation maintenance sector. And in 2020, the FAA issued 30 percent fewer airframe and powerplant certificates than in 2019. Geoff Murray of Oliver Wyman also predicts that by 2025, “There will be a global gap [shortage] of 34,000 pilots. And this could be as high as 50,000 in the most extreme scenarios.”
PHOTOS BY AUTHOR
August 2022 / TWIN & TURBINE • 9