Pre-Covid businesses said: We could expand and grow if we had the workforce.

Post-Covid businesses said: We must prepare for the future with workforce development.

The aviation/aerospace industry has been facing critical shortages with the resultant loss of business and billions of dollars for want of a skilled workforce. Boeing estimates the industry will need hundreds of thousands of workers to replace those retiring.

Boeing’s 2022 Pilot and Technician Outlook (PTO) projects that 602,000 new pilots, 610,000 new maintenance technicians, and 899,000 new cabin crew members will be needed to fly and maintain the global commercial aviation fleet over the next
20 years. The company said demand represented 3.4% increase from last year’s forecast.

Source: Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook 2022-2041

Boeing projections indicate that, over the next 20 years, 602,000 new pilots
will be needed to meet demand from commercial operators. Over the next 20 years, 610,000 new technicians will be needed to meet demand from fleet operators and providers of maintenance, repair, and overhaul services. The combination of fleet growth, attrition, and replacement will continue to drive high demand for the foreseeable future.

Source: CAE Pilot Outlook 2020

ARSA estimated its members were leaving $118 million per month ($1.4 billion year) on the table because they can’t find enough workers per-Covid.

Every 15 years, on average, the airline industry doubles, according to Halldale Group

There is a crushing need to encourage more young people to pursue aviation and aerospace careers. Those efforts continue on many fronts and are now more important than ever.