Aviation Training: What Experts Need — Part II

By Kathryn B. Creedy

Part I: Overhauling Aviation Training For Better Results

The World Airline Training Summit offered up a sea change in aviation training – one that openly called for complete overhaul to produce better, more competent aviation personnel — pilots, aviation maintenance technicians and cabin crew — but instill in them a leadership that makes a difference in culture. Proposals streamline processes both in schools and at regulators for greater efficiency and safety.

Source: PTC proprietary images, PTC Vuforia technology

“It’s a pretty awesome time in the training industry,” FAA’s Manager Training and Certification Group General Aviation & Commercial Everette Rochon, told WATS 2025 attendees. “The world is dedicating the smartest minds to modernize training. It’s exciting to see FAA embracing change. About 20-30% of flight training is done under 141. What I’m asking is how can we use technology and AI solutions to do more with less. It is about breaking down barriers from management that says we don’t have the resources.”

The idea is to keep training costs at least neutral with the advent of expensive high-tech solutions, since airlines and regulators are loath to increase what they view as a cost center not an investment in safety. This a welcome change since previous changes to pilot training and requirements, were successfully designed to impose higher costs on regionals to close the cost gap with major airlines since unions erroneously contended regional pilots took mainline jobs post deregulation.

We are now at a point where many regional routes, according to Boyd International Group, would be better served by 737s, E190s and A220s than with E175s. Boyd International argues this is driving the abandonment of many points that would be better served by regional aircraft currently deployed elsewhere. Delta has already started switching out mainline for regional aircraft.

The movement is prompted by growing concerns among pilots and aviation training experts that personnel quality and safety are being compromised. In this year’s aviation safety report, Flight Safety Foundation warned against complacency.

“Aviation’s safety net is fraying at the edges,” said Foundation President and CEO Dr. Hassan Shahidi, echoing Captain Philip Adrian CEO at Multi Pilot Simulations (MPS) and the chair of the European Aircrew Training Policy Group (ATPG). Adrian, the Aircraft Manufacturers Training Association and others called for a complete overhaul in aviation training during this year’s WATS 2025. “It’s time for the entire industry to double down on compliance, discipline, and proactive risk management to restore public confidence and protect lives. We cannot allow complacency to creep into operations. Safety standards have evolved for a reason, and adherence to them isn’t optional — it’s essential. Compliance alone does not guarantee safety, but without it, safety cannot be achieved.”

FAA/Flight School Relationship

NFTA Vice President Government Affairs Jeff Wolf provided a vision of what future school/FAA interactions could be. The goal, said Wolf, is to identify the regulatory barriers and inefficiencies in certification preventing part 61 pilot schools from applying for 141. Modernization would also explore how part 141 schools can maximize future training demands and reveal why so few 141 schools have examining authority. Industry and regulators are examining whether such authority could be part of the initial school certification as well as its certification for continued operation, something the University Aviation Association has been pushing for some time.

The same is true for alleviating the burden on Flight Standards District Offices (FSDOs). Noting how resource intensive school oversight is, NFTA is calling for less reliance on auditing paper records in favor of the digitization, explained Wolf. It would also use AI to capture negative safety trends and identify problem schools.

“FSDOs will gain efficiency to do more with less through technology integration,” he said. “Standardization is the key to such efficiency since every school is now treated differently. That way FSDOs can focus attention where it needs to be – on the outliers. A dedicated communications portal offers a centralized digital platform enabling streamlined interactions between flight schools and FAA. We need to streamline 141 applications and certification, and we are developing a tool kit for that.”

Rochon agreed. “The objective is to provide the safest training environment in the world using structured courses and advanced training delivery to produce better pilots,” he explained. “Better aeronautical decision making reduces the GA fatal accident rates and fosters the gathering and sharing of data within the flight training industry. It also involves incorporating innovation and technology including both aircraft and learning tech. Training would include Competency-Based Training and Assessment (CBTA) and the use both virtual and mixed reality simulation. It would also encourage innovation with an efficient and effective regulatory structure including working with ICAO requirements for incorporating quality assurance.”

But NFTA and FAA may be thinking too small since international aviation training experts view the valuable technology and CBTA used in flight schools would have an equal impact on other training organizations such as aviation maintenance schools as well as the Aviation Technical Education Council, Aeronautical Repair Station Association and Aircraft Electronics Association. One speaker at WATS 2025 even called for aviation maintenance simulators. Enlarging the effort to streamline the process of all aviation training organizations would vastly improve safety, oversight and the efficiency of aviation rulemaking changes since they are all adopting the same technologies to modernize training.

Holly Woodruff Lyons, president of HWL Aerospace Policy, noted the lack of simulator time in training along with the failure of gaining such authority in the last FAA reauthorization, despite wide-spread agreement simulators are a major safety tool.

“Limitations on sim time are part of the regulation but there is no law preventing FAA from changing regulation,” she noted. “This is a totally different avenue to pursue rather than waiting for a new reauthorization. It’s an opportunity to go to the FAA and convince them we need to look at the regulation. Sim manufacturers are prepared but the cost will be passed on to the student. However, there are grants to offset the cost of acquiring simulators with flight schools moving in that direction.”

Sim time is controversial with pilot unions, but training experts disagree. Incorporating advanced training techniques into general aviation training is critical added Joe Scolia, vice president of Sierra Charlie Aviation. Industry leaders have advocated this for years. NFTA Vice President Laura Benson Jones, who is also founder of Flight Club 502, agreed saying good pilot training and quality are based on what happens at the foundational level. She also advocated for giving trainees simulator time before aircraft flight training even as she noted union contentions that you can’t learn anything except in the aircraft.

“Simulators are only four to five percent of training,” said Collins. “Sims allows us to achieve procedures and competency without having to go to the airplane. But we must get understanding from regulators this is what we need to build better pilots.”

The FAA/NFTA Modernization effort is the subject of public hybrid meetings to hammer out recommendations for overhauling current training rules as well as established flight instructor standardization and objective assessments.

The Promise of Technology

Speakers heavily stressed technology – AI and extended reality – in not just shortening training but to producing more competent aviation personnel. The promise opens a brave new world with world aviation training leaders speaking at WATS 2025 indicating Competency-Based Training and Assessment has moved beyond the flight deck to training for cabin crews and aviation maintenance technicians.

But, with the support of the Aircraft Manufacturer Flight Training Association (AMFTA) and European Aircrew Training Policy Group (ATPG), both promoting CBTA, the National Flight Training Alliance and the FAA may have a fighting chance to effect change.

Meta’s Director of North America Commercial Sales, Reality Lab, Ade Ajayi said immersive training provides better results. “Studies show 40% of users view VR training as giving them more confidence,” he reported. “The immersive experience leads to higher levels of knowledge retention especially for training modules that are inherently dangerous. Extended reality results in a 52% cost reduction; 59% faster completion; 36% better engagement; and 40% better retention.”

Those results are especially true for Gen Z and Alpha who expect AI and XR in their training since this is how they group up.

VR/AR Association COO John Cunningham agreed with Ajayi. “Immersive tech is so powerful because humans tend to remember what we say or do and immersive tech is the closest to reality,” he reported. “What people don’t realize is how embedded VR training already is across industry while aviation companies represents 3% of the entire enterprise XR market. Extended reality will have a 30% CAGR which makes it one of the fastest growth areas in aviation.”

Source: Science in HD via Unsplash

Using technology will also improve training as data informs a complete picture of what is happening in minute detail during training, said Dre Fournier, vice president of business development for HTX Labs. “It helps us understand why the individual is hesitating and, with hand or eye tracking, we really start to put together a picture on that individual to tailor training to them. Without that the likelihood of failure is higher, proficiency is slower and there are higher error rates.”

Overhauling training also requires getting the insurance industry, now married to outdated training and regulations, on board.

Pilot Supply

Changing training to provide higher quality pilots and other aviation personnel also addresses acute workforce shortages because training is not only faster but better. In fact, the US Air Force, in 2017, changed its training to produce better pilots in a shorter time so we know it can and is being done for highly sophisticated military aircraft. We should not question its use in the civil arena.

“It leads to better qualified candidates which has a huge impact on safety,” Scolia told delegates. “Absolutely safety starts on day one. If you have a poor foundation that carries all the way through the career.”

There is no question rising concerns about training quality are valid nor is the need for changes. Consequently, the value of tech, coupled with the overhaul of aviation training for all aviation personnel, is not in doubt. The world is speaking with one voice on the troubling condition of current training and the need for reform.  At WATS 2024, it was still a promise but at WATS 2025 it was clear the political will to make changes as well as the maturity of new technology reveals or real results to enable regulators seeking modernization of century-old practices to get something done…in the name of safety.  

Analysis: Overhauling Aviation Training: The Global Push for New Standards — Part I

An international movement gathers momentum to overhaul aviation training in favor of creating global standards, shedding prescriptive practices and devices and ending scattershot international regulatory standards.

By Kathryn B. Creedy

A decade ago, I called for pilot training reform in a series for Forbes Online, reform that ensured higher quality and better trained pilots. But I did not know what that would look like until, shortly thereafter, I covered a pilot training conference at the Royal Aeronautical Society and the World Airline Training Summit (WATS). They offered fetching glimpses of technologies, philosophies and processes to train pilots faster for greater competency and more leadership.

Since then, the WATS conference built on this knowledge as technology matured, updating us annually on its promise for improving pilot quality. But there was always an undercurrent of frustration questioning why, despite the evidence supporting what must be done to improve safety, it can’t be done. Politics was always the answer

“Pilot unions will never let it happen in America,” said one commenter at WATS 2024. “They have a stranglehold on that issue.”

But given the power behind the movement on display at WATS 2025, that may be changing as several major initiatives come together at once. Those forces include international efforts by the Aircraft Manufacturer Flight Training Association (AMFTA) and European Aircrew Training Policy Group (ATPG) as well as the National Flight Training Alliance and the FAA in the US, and promote Competency Based Training and Assessment (CBTA), citing the measurable improvement it drives.

WATS 2025 was a tidal change. With one voice, proponents called for an overhaul of training philosophy and regulations – using safety as the goal rather than mere compliance.

Indeed, there was an aura of impatience and restlessness delivering a not-so-subtle admonition to lead, move or get out of the way.

Outcome-Based Training

Captain Philip Adrian, CEO at Multi Pilot Simulations (MPS) and the chair of the ATPG

Keynoter Captain Philip Adrian, CEO at Multi Pilot Simulations (MPS) and the chair of the ATPG, set the pace for most of what followed during the three-day conference. He made the case for why we need an overhaul, while other speakers provided concrete examples of how it is working and its impact on quality and retention, covered in Part II.

Adrian called on attendees to initiate aviation’s own Moon Shot. Invoking the words of President John F. Kennedy, he took direct aim at the US 1500-hour rule echoing so many ALPA members. Even ALPA members tell me the rule was less about safety than creating a pilot shortage which would ultimately drive pilot pay up by 40% with the latest contracts. Well, mission accomplished, boys, and now let’s focus on safety.

Adrian defined the risk of ignoring the collective training wisdom on display at WATS 2025.

“We are currently fooling ourselves into thinking that training always equals learning, and that hours are a good indication of quality,” Adrian, echoing the National Transportation Safety Board conclusions a decade and a half ago. “The ease of auditing has brought us to a point where quality and safety are no longer the primary goal of training, but compliance is. Current regulations were new and modern several generations ago but are not fit for purpose in this modern age. Input driven regulations, specifying hours, devices and many other restrictions, provide industry with little to no flexibility. The ability to innovate with new tools is restricted.”

He’s not alone and, significantly, in the US, the National Flight Training Alliance is pushing for rules giving flight schools the flexibility and regulations they need. NFTA noted the only one not well represented in previous rounds of reform was the flight training industry.

“With this approach,” Adrian continued, “we are led to believe that safety is guaranteed through the hours in a logbook. The 1500-hour rule is an example of this. Let me be clear: I am not against this because it is too high, and I am not against it because it is too low. I am against it because it is absolutely meaningless! In the end, quality and safety is what we should be striving for, rather than hours or training provided. As I have stated before, regulatory or other issues should not stand in the way of achieving the best possible outcome, even if it is through completely different ways.”

With that, he called for outcome-based training based on global, rather than local standards that now rely more on prescriptive regulations than in building better, safer aviation personnel.

Not Invented Here

The move is controversial with opposition from unions in the US which have opposed both the Multi-Crew Pilot License (MPL) and Competency-Based Training and Assessment (CBTA), as bad despite its wide-spread adoption by the rest of the world. Proof of its value is the fact it is now making its way from the flight deck to cabin and maintenance bay. Many pilots say the reason for the opposition is because it wasn’t invented here.

So, the manufacturer and flight school community are teaming to urge change. Perhaps the combination of proponents will finally be able to break through union influence on Congress and actually make it a reality. To date, the wisdom of the National Transportation Safety Board and the findings of Flight Safety Foundation studies have not been enough, despite the fact they question an hours-based requirement and uncovered the fact unstructured flying to build hours costs the professionalism and discipline NTSB says is so important to aviation safety.

I’ve long argued ALPA’s obstinance is standing is the way of better training to produce higher quality, safer pilots. I expect the new movement to have an impact since it pushes a tougher, data-driven training program based on objective data not subjective opinions of flight instructors. Suddenly the union mantra that any changes “reduce standards,” becomes rather hollow in the face of such collective expertise in aviation training.  

Adrian perhaps said it best. “The innovative change being sought by training professionals requires new thinking, new people and the need to come up with new solutions rather than repeating the old problems,” Adrian said. “Innovative solutions do not necessarily equal technology or technological innovations. A simple review of current regulations and training programs alike offer many improvement possibilities as a simple first step.”

The Players

Both industry and regulators are openly receptive to the challenge, none more so than the new partnership alliance of Boeing, Airbus, Comac and Embraer, designed to drive faster change to aviation training.

Embraer’s Head of Flight Crew Training and AMFTA Director Captain Alexandre Toribio, said the association has more credibility and a greater urgency because it is speaking with one voice to both airlines and regulators on establishing CBTA as the gold standard, something already done by Boeing and CAE.

Boeing Director Training Solutions Mark Albert agreed. “As manufacturers, we are responsible for innovation and advocacy for aviation training,” he said. “It makes sense in the cycle of ideation, airline by airline, national aviation authority by national aviation authority to unify the recommendations and documentation. We may be competitors but not when it comes to safety. It is our responsibility to identify the issues important for all of us and to work in harmonization on what works and move countries in the same direction.”

AMFTA’s efforts include making multi-crew cooperation a key part of pilot training before granting a type rating. Already underway from the organization are initiatives including CBTA guidance, instructor standardization, new grading policies and agreement on theoretical knowledge. Airbus Head of Flight Training Worldwide and AMFTA Director Captain Stéphan Labrucherie noted all the manufacturers are leveraging their strong relationships with IATA, ICAO and other regulators and using their collective knowledge to work with customers on improved training.

“What we can do,” said Comac Chief Engineer of Aircraft Operational Safety Jin Yibin, “is discuss our insights and recommendations openly, based on our common issues. With that we can approach the national authority and give them the entire picture of what manufacturers are concerned about.”

Pilot Quality Questioned

In the US, the spate of accidents at the beginning of 2025 brought the issue to the forefront, even as it politicized aviation safety by focusing mostly on air traffic control shortages and diversity, equity and inclusion. The midair between an army helicopter and a regional jet at Washington National Airport, killing 67, was followed in quick succession by two general aviation accidents capped off by the landing accident of an Endeavor Air regional jet in Toronto.

What senior pilots and other safety experts have been muttering over LinkedIn for years was suddenly in full view, prompting an urgency and concern the quality of pilots being delivered to the flight deck lacked the experience drilling holes in the sky was supposed to offer. They question first officer abilities and training but also the rapidity, forced by the pilot shortage, through which they rise from regional FO to mainline FO. One airline noted that a regional FO became a regional captain and was set to go to the majors within eight months, calling into question whether such fast-paced advancement was wise.

Meanwhile, political divides fostered a flight deck culture threatening crew resource management. In a landmark study for her PhD, Captain Kimberly Perkins revealed the importance of understanding the impact of bias in creating psychological safety on the flight deck as a critical element in reducing risk. She provided 1600 airline pilots with specialized training designed to enhance psychological safety and improve Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Threat and Error Management (TEM). They overwhelmingly agreed that psychological safety was crucial for enhancing safety, demonstrating a significant 260% increase in the number of pilots recognizing psychological safety as “extremely important” for aviation safety.

Need Data to Prove the Case

“While we have these conversations about pilot quality, much of it is second and third hand information,” said NFTA CEO Lee Collins, who was instrumental in forging the 1500-hour rule. “If there were stronger relations between airlines and regionals, we would have a better measuring stick to guide that change.”

The problem with that, however, is the fact that mainlines own most of the regionals, excepting two major players – SkyWest and Republic Airways – meaning the training relationships should be pretty tight. Instead, more reports indicate questionable activities at Delta, specifically that the pilot aboard the Endeavor aircraft at Toronto failed training as a Delta FO before being sent back as a captain; ironic since we are supposed to have a single level of safety. I questioned at the time, whether this was an actual failure or whether the pilot was never tested but sent back as a regional captain to avoid the requirements of the Pilot Records Database. The regional ownership component certainly calls into question whether major carriers take a wholistic approach to safety.

It is too soon to know, and we must await the conclusions of the NTSB and the Canadian Transportation Safety Board.

“These accidents present an opportunity for the safety boards to key up conversations based on data from the two crashes at Washington National and Toronto,” said Collins.  

NFTA

The role of NFTA is important since it is taking the lead on modernizing training regulations by partnering with the FAA.

“NFTA’s mission is to provide direction and focus for the industry,” explained Collins, adding the timing was ripe with the need for requirements to accommodate powered lift and improved general aviation training. “Every sector had a voice in the pilot training debate except the flight training industry. Our role is advocacy for improvement. Our students have a certain way they want to learn, and training devices they want to use. That all embraces high technology, so we are reaching out to flight training providers and all businesses with a tangential relation to training to support changes. What is encouraging is the fact we received such a warm reception from both regulators and legislators who agree we need modernization. We need an infrastructure meeting the requirements of the flight training industry which needs flexibility as its number one requirement. We need to look at where industry is now and what we need for the future; to look at what’s going wrong and fix that. We need more part 61s to move to part 141. We need to alleviate the burden on Flight Standards District Offices and digitize oversight and a data-driven approach to flight training.”

Easier said than done, but Adrian implored attendees: “Let’s do the right thing, put safety ahead of everything else and devise a future where training is seen as an existential need rather than a cost of doing business,” he said. “Let’s not look at what was always done, but what NEEDS to be done to guarantee a better future. Let’s not look at easy and cheap, but right and needed! We need new ideas and people to carry them. We need to make aviation safer, better, more equitable, more inclusive, and future proof. Let’s show courage, step up and accept this challenge with our eyes wide open and set ourselves a target to overhaul aviation training before the end of this decade, not because it is easy, but because it is hard!”

Part II: Helping trainers and FAA do more with less

Opinion: Concrete Steps for WAI and Members to Change the Culture — Part Two

Editor’s Note: This editorial is my own personal opinion based on 40 years covering the aviation industry. It is second in a series in response to the #WAI2025 session on what male allies can do to support women.

Part One — Opinion: Male Ally Discussion Very Disturbing with No Mention of Safety

Kathryn B. Creedy

There are two schools of thought when it comes to changing the aviation/aerospace culture. If we just get the story out there, things will change. There are thousands of stories including high-profile celebrities like Gretchen Carlson and the #MeToo Movement and little has changed.

The other school thinks if we get more women in executive management, things will change. We have thousands of women in the C-Suite and the culture has not changed. So, let’s look at what WAI does.

WAI has been in the forefront of quantifying the problem. It did a study years ago reporting that women were fascinated by aviation and aerospace and wanted to take on the challenges of our industry but were turned off by the male dominance. Given the nearly 5000 attendees and #WAI2025, all the women in space documentaries and the thousands of women executives in aviation, aerospace and defense, it is clear many have braved that dominance and pursued aviation and aerospace careers anyway…at a high cost for many.

The Women in Aviation Advisory Board released a report three years ago citing culture as the number one problem in recruiting and retaining women. The permanent Bessie Coleman Women in Advisory Committee was supposed to launch this year after the Federal Aviation Administration called for applications to serve on the board and find ways to put its many recommendations into practice. I applied despite my problem with the descriptions of its job which repeated the work already done by WIAAB. It said nothing nothing about implementing its recommendations.

Well, we all know what happened to that initiative on January 20 despite the fact it was mandated by Congress. But it reconfirms that Congress loves to order studies about major problems to make it look as if it is doing something when it really has no intention of doing so. It’s called kick the can down the road until the issue goes away. It is exactly how minorities are treated when they rock the boat – pat them on the head and tell them the big men will handle it.

The other treatment is bullying, threatening, demeaning and marginalization. Just look at what is happening to Sarah McBride, the nation’s highest ranking openly transgender elected official and the first openly transgender member of the United States Congres. Her “colleagues”, including women, can’t even behave with respect, discipline and professionalism and continue to misgender her and block her from the ladies room. It’s all petty and childish but that is what we are facing.

Sensitive Topic

I completely understand the treatment of women in the workforce is a touchy issue, and that WAI CEO Lynda Coffman and WAI must tread lightly given its sponsors are the aviation and aerospace industry corporates whose culture is the problem. But I’ve long thought that if WAI were to wield its power toward changing the culture it would be successful because it would scare them. My theory is, as Lynda said, they are trying to scare us, so let’s scare them.

I know there are board members and members who agree. But I also know it would be risky. I know members have dropped their membership because, as they have explained to me, it is too geared toward pilots but, more importantly they tell me, it is from frustration that WAI does nothing about the toxic culture.

Pilots

As far as too focused on pilots, I’ll tell you a little secret. Everything in aviation is focused on pilots who drink the kool aid they’re some kind of god. Well, if you know your Greek mythology, the gods were pretty damn egotistical and petty and liked to use humans for games. Sound familiar?

But WAI is fully aware of its soft spot so I don’t agree with the criticism. First of all, I’ve seen the move on the conference stage to include other careers and the WAI Career Guide for kids is the best in the biz. It’s Girls in Aviation Day is a model touching over 30,000 girls worldwide.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington youth and RTX employees celebrate the national launch of a new, first-of-its-kind DIY STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculum, rolling out across all Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide by the end of 2023. The program, made possible by RTX and in collaboration with Northwestern University, empowers youth to explore STEM learning in an impactful and culturally relevant way, guided by their own curiosity, problem solving and team work on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 in Washington. (Joy Asico/AP Images for BGCA)

And it’s tough to change the culture, although if you want a blueprint on how, read Melinda Gates A Moment of Lift; How Empowering Women Changes the World which shows us even religiously or traditionally based intractable cultures can be changed with hard work…and courage.

WAI’s Role

It is clear WAI has rightly seen its role as helping women and minorities navigate the culture. At its conference, there are many panels addressing resilience against the adversity women face on the job. One of its greatest assets is Lane Wallace who writes for Aviation for Women about how to bridge the culture gaps in our industry and teach men what needs to happen to make the change. She often has popular workshops at WAI. The best nugget I’ve ever heard from her is what male allies can do. When someone makes a stupid comment about a woman (or a minority), colleagues can immediately respond with “Knock it off, you are hurting the team.” That’s a powerful message telling the perpetrator his views and comments are not only unacceptable but counterproductive.

Sexual Harassment: Where to Go and What to Do

L-R: Captain Jenny Beatty, Kathy Yodice, Michelle Halleran, Kandy Bernskoetter at #WAI2024 panelists for Sexual Harassment: Where to Go and What to Do

Last year, to my surprise, there was an entire panel led by Kathleen Yodice, Esq and WAI board member. She was joined by Kandy Bernskoetter, a Fed Ex 767 captain, Embry Riddle Professor Michelle Halleran, director of diversity initiatives, and Captain Jenny Beatty, an American Airlines captain, who has been working this issue for decades and has some of the best assets to be used in the fight against discrimination, sexual harassment and assault. What astounded me was the panel was scheduled for late the last afternoon, but the huge room was full showing the interest was high and demand for action was there. And many women stayed behind to speak with Beatty.

The last time such a panel was scheduled was during the #Metoo Movement. Then there was a gap of several years and last year’s panel was at the insistence of a board member.

However sensitive this topic might be. It should be a standard part of WAI conference offerings and on its website. If you are going to teach women to be resilient, you must teach them what they need to know about the cultlure.

But there is one more thing we must think about if we are frustrated at WAI’s seeming inaction and our lack of power. I think it is doing what it can now but might do more, but it will need our help.

Every year, WAI has at least one panel telling women how to navigate the work/life balance of an aviation, pilot or aviation maintenance career. It is a must attend in my book and I continue to learn how both men and women take on the task of supporting both family and job.

My favorite story is a female captain whose husband, also a pilot, decided to take on home front responsibilities in favor of seeing her rise through the ranks. This is critically important. Many women pilots, in order to have a better schedule to accommodate work/life balance, opt for the seniority on a lesser paying aircraft which hurts women financially, throughout their career and into retirement.

Member Action

The bottom line, it is up to members to change the discussion. If we want WAI to go out on a limb, we must support its mission. That’s a big if, because I think, all things considered, they do a hell of a lot to help women in aviation and aerospace worldwide and we risk those initiatives if we take this mission on.

Call to Action

Are we willing to replace the money lost if a sponsor bails? Are we willing to shout that bailout from the rooftops, so they become known for their lack of support for women and minorities? All the companies talk a good game about supporting women but it is rare the words are followed by concrete actions.

#WAI2025 was not just a feel-good conference, energizing us to cope with the next year. It was a call to action and we must answer that call.

One of the problems is “someone else itis” in which we expect someone else to do the heavy lifting, especially the government. That does not work. It’s up to us. However, in the words of both Coffman and Emily Calandrelli at the opening session of #WAI2025, no one is going to fight for us. We must make it happen ourselves.

To change the culture, we must take Lynda’s message about being bold back to our companies and insist on change knowing full well the reaction of the company and HR will be when someone rocks the boat – particularly this boat. We’ll be facing retaliation at the least and firing at the most. But if we get those stories out there, companies might be shamed into changing the culture. I’ll get the story out there and I’m good at it.

What We Can Do

A less confrontational approach would take the Women in Aviation Advisory Board report and carve out doable initiatives and make sure as many recommendations as possible get done. Do we really need government to guide us? Hell no. Do we want this government to guide us, especially now? Oh, double hell no!

As I said in my analysis of WIAAB report, I’ve been around too long and seen too many reports shelved to know if we want change, we must do it ourselves. It’s been three years and even the democrats gave it a low priority calling for applications at the last minute of the administration. Now, I don’t trust this administration to do what we need.

To hell with government, to hell with corporations who are now rolling back DEI and shooting themselves in the foot. If we would take the recommendations and make them happen, we would be taking the first step on a long road but at least the change would be launched. Why are we waiting?

Another great tool is the training program developed by Dr. Kimberly Perkins to address the negative culture problem. She targets pilots for now but wants to see it adopted for everyone. By tackling bias through her multifaceted strategy, she believes we can boost overall safety, foster more effective communication, mutual respect, and psychological safety as essential elements of a high-performing flight crew.

Conclusion

Disturbingly, I watched the standing ovation after the male ally session on which I wrote my Part One critique of ALPA. I know nothing about the other two speakers during the male ally discussion, I assume they meant what they said and are genuinely interested in improving the lot of women and minorities in aviation and aerospace. I also know too many male allies/champions who are very vocal about supporting us when push comes to shove to doubt their sincerity.

But I do know ALPA. It is not among those genuinely trying to help women and minorities. Would there be an OBAP if ALPA delivered that role? Ditto for all the other minority pilot organizations. ALPA is a political animal blowing with the wind playing politics with safety… again, especially these days, which made ALPA President Jason Ambrosi’s comments during the session that much more disgusting.

Latina Pilots in Aviation at last year’s celebration.

This culture is not unique to aviation. It is SOP across Corporate America and HR quickly becomes the enemy protecting the corporation despite corporate policies and laws against sexual harassment, assault and discrimination.

At next year’s conference WAI should invite Greg Principato and Tony Kern to the panel, two of the most vocal allies in the industry. The question should not be about what male allies can do to help women but shining a light on why the culture is this way. Hold them up as role models by asking what specific actions or policy changes have they made to ensure a cultural change? What have they done to get other males on board? What are the metrics of those changes? What are their recommendations for working with men to change the culture? Because we are not going to do it with ALPA.

Frankly, I don’t think men know how they can help. When I asked SoFly, the Miami WAI Chapter what it meant by the male ally it introduced last year, the gentelmen said he was just there to literally do the heavy lifting. That’s wonderful…but that’s not all we need so we must define a male ally by describing the actions we expect to see.

Rites of passage and modern masculinity

Woman are being asked to solve a problem they did not create. So, we need to partner with men to eliminate hierarchical thinking, as Melinda Gates says, and that is now what WAI is doing by working with all the other aviation minority groups to develop a strategy to fight back.

One of my pet peeves about advocacy groups is silos which are counterproductive. Silos are designed to protect revenues and these organizations, whether they fight for civil liberties or minorities in aviation, should be joining together. That’s why the move to work with OBAP, Sisters of the Skies, National Gay Pilots Association, Professional Asian Pilots Association, the 99s, Professional Women Controllers, Women at NASA, Women in the Military and others is such a game changer. But ALPA was in the list Lynda mentioned and it will try to control the conversation. We cannot be led by ALPA. We must lead ALPA. Read Part One to see how they manipulate the system.

But don’t forget the other aviation organizations including International Aerospace Womens Association, Female Aviators Sticking Together, Association of Women in Aviation Maintenance, Women in Corporate Aviation, Women in Drones, Whirly Girls, Black Women in Aviation or the Black Aviators Network.

Be Bold! Take Collective Action

Lynda called on us to be bold and join in collective action against the tide rushing over Washington. We need all those groups and their members to be included if we want to effect change in diversity, equity and inclusion.

The culture has always been with us but, as Lynda pointed out, adversity breeds opportunities. Working collectively and being bold could make the difference, especially in changing culture.

Actions speak louder than words. It is not only the actions of males in play here. It is the collective action minorities take against what is happening. That means us.

If we want WAI to fight the fight, we must fight with it.

Opinion: Male Ally Discussion Very Disturbing with No Mention of Safety – Part One

Editor’s Note: This editorial is my own personal opinion based on 40 years covering the aviation industry.

By Kathryn B. Creedy

As I sat in the Friday afternoon discussion of male allies at the Women in Aviation International conference, I grew angrier and angrier. Sure, they were saying all the right things. They were telling us what we wanted to hear, that it is everyone’s responsibility to stand up for and witness for women by knocking down those who make anti-DEI comments about women and minorities or question their qualifications. All good. But not enough.

I was absolutely shocked no one related the way minorities and women are treated in aviation/aerospace to safety. I understand. A lot of women and minorities don’t get the safety implications of our culture.

People, it is all about safety! Safety on the job, safety on the flight deck which translates to the safety of passengers and, most importantly, psychological safety. How many dozens of accidents have happened because the personality of the captain sets a culture of intimidation that silences first officers who might otherwise save the aircraft? Crew Resource Management has been forgotten in these dangerous times. I’ve written on this safety aspect of DEI many times but want to say, at least, one of the WAI panelists – Jason Ambrosi, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, was being (let me be kind) disingenuous.

I’m sure you will agree with ALPA’s public comments which I will quote below. I do. But you won’t agree with the ALPA’s actions behind those sweet words. I know nothing about the other two speakers during the male ally discussion, I assume they meant what they said and are genuinely interested in improving the lot of women and minorities in aviation and aerospace. I also know too many male allies/champions who are very vocal about supporting us when push comes to shove to doubt their sincerity. It’s ALPA with which I have a problem.

Disclaimer

WAI is NOT responsible for this editorial. This editorial is based on my knowing the women who have been marginalized or misrepresented by the union. ALPA’s lack of support for women over the decades is part of its own decision making so if it is pissed at this editorial, it needs to look in the mirror. If ALPA is true to form, it will withdraw support from the organization in retaliation for this editorial and I will have proved my point. Think about that. An independent journalist, who is a mere member of the organization, who, in exercising her First Amendment Rights and calls it like it is to warn women about ALPA’s two faces, might get WAI in trouble. Ambrosi, is a big boy, he decided to take the stage. He is representing ALPA’s long history against women.

We are at the precipice of a slippery slope and at the beginning of the conference CEO Lynda Coffman urged us to gather collectively to fight what is happening in society today. Not only are minority rights at stake but democracy itself. I hope you’ll watch her opening address because it is refreshing to hear a leader say these words out loud.

I was surprised to find many in the audience disapproved of her speech which I lauded on LinkedIn.

ALPA’s Retaliation

ALPA has gone after me before. I even offered them a chance to read one of the first articles I wrote on the 1500-hour rule before I submitted it. They refused to let me use their quotes but that wasn’t part of the deal so I used them anyway. They called my editors at Forbes and elsewhere to get me fired or kill the article. Now they just ghost me. I refuse to stop and continue to act because it is the right thing to do and there are too damn many people not doing the right thing these days. As a good journalist I’ve tried to get them to participate in my articles but they ghosted me every time so I stopped asking. Their choice.

I’ve been called anti-union when I was raised pro-union and was active in unionizing the FAA. Is this editorial vengeance for all that? Hell, no. I saw the same marginalization to regional pilots over the last 40 years as ALPA fought what it called “outsourcing” of jobs, so I know this is a pattern that needs calling out. I’ve also watched ALPA play politics with safety to the serious detriment of safety.

If ALPA comes after WAI, or me, it is nothing less than the bullying we need to fight. Rock the boat and there will be consequences. Is that really how we should partner?

Lynda urged us to be bold against the anti-DEI onslaught. This is me being bold.

I wanted to shout from the audience: “Ambrosi, actions speak louder than words.” But I decided to be a good little girl.

Quotable Quotes

Let’s look at what Ambrosi said.

He noted the world is now filled with people who want to say what they want to say, whenever they want to say it, reflecting the comments against pilots made after the American Eagle crash in Washington, DC, and again after the Delta Connection crash in Toronto.

“These comments are demeaning to the entire profession,” he said, invoking his daughter, saying he wanted to see her reach any opportunity she desires. “Silence is complicity. We must be assertive in letting people know how you feel about these comments. If we get everyone out there to do this, we can change the culture. We must show that we are a family and emphasize that, in aviation, every pilot meets the exact same training and standards and there are no shortcuts. For anyone to say our pilots are not qualified is unacceptable. We need to create more opportunities for everyone. We must counter the abuses and say we have resources out there. We need to be proactive and not let it just happen.”

Sounds good, right? I wholeheartedly agree.

Tell that to all the male pilots who cue the mike to say to women pilots: Another empty kitchen.

But let’s look at the ALPA’s actions:

Women at ALPA, including those in the executive ranks, have been asking for work-rule changes that would benefit both genders for decades and have been stymied so ALPA’s attitude toward women predates Ambrosi. I know too many women of ALPA working on changes to work rules to accommodate the modern work-life balance for both men and women who have tried to work within the system only to be told the “system” was not for them.

Why do you think ALPA has lost so many dynamic women over the years who have quit doing ALPA work? Because they were not being supported and their budgets were cut. Many MECs have already dismantled their DEI programs. Is that the action of an ally?

Meanwhile, while women pilots continued to struggle, flight attendants fought against misogynistic airline policies way back in the 1970s and won despite being condemed by their unions. (Read the Great Stewardess Rebellion to get the details.) Why are women pilots still having to fight? That is not an accident. It is by design.

Blind Spot

I wrote a two-part article about the changes for which women pilots have been fighting. I’ve also frankly discussed the work-rule issue with one of ALPA’s leaders who defended ALPA’s actions saying women only made up 6% of pilots insinuating majority rules. Message received: we’ll take your money, but we won’t represent you.

ALPA finally did a survey and reported male pilots wanted the same work-rule changes. Duh!

This ALPA exec ran up to me at the World Airline Training Summit several years ago excitedly telling me the results. He thought I’d be impressed.

“So, Paul, you are telling me now the men are pushing for the same thing that women have been asking for decades, ALPA is going to act?”

“No, Kathryn,” he said. “It’s not like that.”

“Paul, it is exactly like that,” I said walking away shaking my head at his ignorance. Clearly, ALPA is not being inclusive, or it wouldn’t be so. Damned. Ignorant.

Union Representation

ALPA is supposed to represent its members in any disputes, but I’ve seen too many pilots of both genders, betrayed by ALPA, which, when a someone rocks the boat, joins with management to circle the wagons to isolate and gaslight the victim using their dues to help management fight them in court. Don’t believe me? Ask Karlene Pettit who not only won her case against Delta but counsels both male and female pilots on how to navigate the law.

Source: Science in HD via Unsplash

I’ve seen too many women pilots who were sexually assaulted, and the airlines and unions circled the wagons to protect the perpetrator. One woman was sexually assaulted on the flight deck, in flight, but the airline isolated the first officer (saying “we’ve never had a problem with this captain,” insinuating it was she who had the problem. Meanwhile, he was a well known sexual predator). The airline immediately began protecting him, retaliating against the victim. The manager at her base conspired to ensure that all her pilot colleagues turned against her, calling on them to attack her publicly on social media by sending an all-base email against her. They poured it on. That’s called stalking, boys, and it is illegal. These are people she must fly with and what do you think that does to Crew Resource Management or psychological safety?

A flight attendant was assaulted on a trip because she refused to go out with a first officer, who, mid-flight, sauntered back to the cabin to ask her out and for an alcoholic beverage. Does he assault all women who refuse to defy the FARs against drinking and flying? The airline knows all about this incident. Have they grounded him? Not to my knowledge.

But more important are questions prompted by this event. Have other FAs, afraid of his status or his reputation, acceded to his wishes and let him drink and fly? Tell me that is not about safety.

And Delta is still going after Pettit after she questioned the training of the pilots in the Toronto crash. She is not alone. More and more pilots are questioning pilot training and the rapidity of pilots rising through the ranks owing to the pilot shortage. My question is whether Delta and others are trying to skirt the requirements of the Pilot Records Database by letting pilots they know will fail opt to go back to the regionals as a captain. But WE HAVE A SINGLE LEVEL OF SAFETY! Well, we might. Let’s be clear, Delta owns its regionals. Here’s the blog it objected to.

If you want a blow-by-blow account of how Delta gaslit and grounded boat rocker Karlene Pettit in a case all about the safety issues she observed as a captain, read Karlene’s book Air 21 Delta’s Debacle, lessons learned in her triumphant seven-year battle against the airline. It gives you the tools to protect your career.

Oh, about that quote. Members wanted ALPA to make a statement supporting the pilots in the Toronto crash.

Unlike ALPA-Canada, ALPA-US didn’t follow suit to publicly support the pilots until after a call by members to do so. When ALPA-US finally posted, I noted it was reversing 40 years of attacking regional pilot quality, adding it was refreshing to hear ALPA actually support regional pilots even as I wondered if it was because he works for Delta.

These stories are well-known in the industry. It is an open secret that the old-boy’s network, boys-will-be-boys toxic culture is jeopardizing safety and lots of pilots are saying so, even ALPA members. Consequently, listening to Ambrosi made me want to vomit. I got angry instead.

Good Character

There’s also another issue to be considered, that of the regulator. Airlines and pilots know full well they are required by law to be of good moral character. So, given the actions of airlines and unions we should be asking why the regulators don’t enforce the requirement about being of good moral character. Because the problem is just about women? Not, really, it is also about other minorities in the same culture.

Both regulators and companies not only let these crimes slide, they protect the perpetrators. That is not what real male allies do.

That is why it is of paramount importance to stress this is a safety issue and while they may say safety is their north star, letting these crimes continue and protecting the perpetrators says they don’t really mean it. Even if the pilot tilting at a big corporation wins, they lose if they sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) which keeps the crime, and the company’s role in it, secret. I say join Gretchen Carlson, who won her sexual harassment case against Fox News, in her move to ban NDAs.

It’s About Safety

Changing the culture is not just a nice thing to do for women or minorities. It is a safety issue. Full Stop.

It is also about the women and minorities who follow us into the industry.

Dr. Kimberly Perkins completed her study revealing the importance of understanding the impact of bias and creating psychological safety on the flight deck as a critical element of reducing risk and crucial for enhancing safety.

The most important way to eliminate bias is what Tachelle Lawson advises in her book Black is NOT a Credential: The Corporate Scam of DEI. She advises taking DEI out of HR and placing it squarely on the shoulders of the CEO. She points out that it is the CEO who is responsible for charting the company’s strategic course and since DEI is a strategic initiative designed to boost the bottom line, it is squarely on his or her shoulders. That goes for Ambrosi, too. Her definition of how we should conduct ourselves is pretty much the same as the National Transportation Safety Board which reports again and again that professionalism and discipline are key to aviation safety. Lawson also adds respect to the equation. Respect, discipline and professionalism would set a new cultural tone. It is that simple.

So, I’ll test Ambrosi’s word. “Silence is complicity,” he said. “We must be assertive in letting people know how we feel about these comments.”

This is how I feel.

Prove I’m wrong, Jason. The point is men still think they don’t have to take us into consideration and the current political climate proves it. Men think lip service checks the box.

This is not about being politically correct.

It’s about safety. 

Part Two: What is WAI’s Role in Women’s Rights?

Where Are All the Female Bill Nyes?

WAI2025 Keynote Speaker Emily Calandrelli Hollywood hasn’t caught up to women’s interest in science.

By Kathryn B. Creedy

Photo Courtesy of The Space Gal website

As I listened to Emily Calandrelli at Women in Aviation International Conference opening session, I got mad. Here is young woman focused completely on “supersizing” the impact of #aviation #STEM #STEAM education and Hollywood doesn’t see her value.

Calandrelli, AKA The Space Gal on social media platforms, said Hollywood sees women as a risk. “We scare them,” she said.

The Space Gal & Pink Overalls

One of the stories she told about trying to break into the big leagues to get her programming to television was maddening.

But first, did I mention she is an aerospace engineer with a degree from MIT? She’s also an astronaut and science communicator. She also achieved something else amazing – the first solo female science show host in the US with Exploration Outer Space while she was visibly pregnant! Little girls wanted to emulate her so much, they wore her signature pink overalls stuffed with pillows. As if that weren’t enough, she is an author of children’s books based on her tv show. So, she has the chops.

Photo courtesy of Emily Calandrelli

She grew up wondering where all the female Bill Nyes where.  

Turns out Hollywood sees women as too big a risk. They are an afterthought, she indicated. The men in Hollywood say there was no market for science programming with a woman host because the demographic is all men, and they don’t want to watch a woman. Tell that to PBS’s NOVA and NATURE where women are everything from narrators to mission scientists. One of the best shows I watched on PBS was Picture a Scientist on women’s struggle to become the top in their field.

But, when it comes to children’s show, they are very comfortable with women hosts.

I thought, yeah, the “Mom” role. God these guys are really neanderthals but that might be unfair to neanderthals.

It is absolutely shortsighted since I spend my 90% my tv time watching science documentaries on geology, nature, climate change and space exploration. I revel in the space science shows because of the number of smart, powerful women who play important engineering, design and mission roles and earn coverage by the documentarians because they are so critical to the mission. The message they send is not only they are there, but they are important contributors and their male colleagues respect what they do. Space exploration is clearly a team sport, and they are just regular parts of the team.

It is absolutely incredible to me, as a science consumer, that in the 21st Century that a business would actually leave 50% of the market out of their programming. Could there be a better poster child for why diversity is good for the bottom line. Women are responsible for as much as 85% of spending decisions.

A Pretty Face

I chuckled when she turned an old myth about women – the brainless, dumb woman, who is only good as window dressing – on its head. Remember men used to say women are hired for their looks, not brains, especially in television. It looks as if that still applies and they won’t even take brainy women. Well, she was told that for a woman to be hired as a co-host she’d need to be an astronaut. “Was the male host an astronaut,” she asked.

No, she said, and I thought, yeah, the male co-host was the pretty face. But just think about that. The male had been reduced to nothing but window dressing, a role women have been in for millennia.

Calandrelli aired an old commercial for the Discovery Channel used to attract viewers. All the hosts were male. Worse, the most recent commercial is exactly the same!

“Science TV has become testosterone TV,” she reported. “Meanwhile, 30% of scientists and engineers are women. Of the 133 television shows out there, only 1% are hosted or led by women. What would that look like if 50% of science shows were hosted by women?

“If you want to change the story, you need to change the storyteller.”

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

She was eventually rewarded with a Netflix series Emily’s Wonder Lab, but it only ran a year because networks were moving to cartoons “despite the fact that Emily’s Wonder Lap was in the top 16% of all tv shows and movies on the platform worldwide.”

It’s all about costs but if you take all the salaries of all the hosts it’s $14 million, she reported. “That could have created nine more seasons Emily’s Wonder Lab which moved to the top 13% besting Grey’s Anatomy. It ran in 190 countries in local languages. But here’s the impact. You know when a kid chooses science for their birthday theme, that is revolutionary.”

“DEI is not just a nice thing to have,” she told the nearly 5000 attendees. “It’s good for the bottom line. Women are not a small demographic they are 50% of the population.

After the cancellation, she pivoted, as any ambitious woman does, wanting to reduce the stereotype of what scientists looks like. “There’s value in representation,” she said. “But the value for those who are not represented is that it completely changes the way they see friends and female role models in their lives. Role models in life takes real people, not cartoons.

She trademarked her catch phrase – stay curious and keep exploring – and took all the experiments done in her tv show and turned them into children’s books which climbed to Number One on the New York Times Best Seller List. Now tell me women are not bankable!

What’s next for Emily is taking the money she made from her books to re-invest in herself and her mission which is creating her own show – Emily’s Science Lab – on You Tube. Within six months she booked 150,000 subscribers.

“If we want representation, we are going to have to create it ourselves,” Callendrelli said. “No one is going to do it for us. Nobody will help us because we are seen as a financial risk. Today it’s worse because they are now afraid they’ll get in trouble because of the anti-DEI movement. The lack of women in STEM is everyone’s problem.  Not having diversity comes at a high cost in money and lives.” She described how most drug studies are done on men and the impact on women is ‘inferred.’ Even crash test dummies are based on men which resulted in more injuries for women.

“This is not just a recruitment problem it is an attrition problem,” she said. “Women in STEM is no silver bullet. But it is an incredibly powerful tool society is actively choosing not to use!”

Yeah, perfect example. I stopped paying attention when my doctor talked about BMI when I read a study showing it was done in the 1940s, on men alone.

Calandrelli is exactly the role model we need.

Economic and Workforce Development Drive Aviation Education Nationwide

Pennsylvania latest state to target aviation and aerospace careers for both economic and workforce development.

By Kathryn B. Creedy

A quiet revolution is underway across America, one that is developing K-Career pipelines for aspiring aviation and aerospace personnel. The revolution is driven by state and local government economic and workforce development officials partnering with local career and technical education (CTE), aviation education organizations and nonprofit STEM education programs to deliver curriculum to students. The goal is to leverage these burgeoning career-and-technical-education programs to ensure students are workforce ready when they graduate from high school.

Aerium Board Chair Dr. Larry Nulton (left) congratulates GJCTC Executive Director John Augustine during the January 23 check presentation session.

Pennsylvania, like other states, wants to develop aviation hubs to serve the workforce needs of the growing uncrewed, airline and business aviation industries. The Pennsylvania program is driven by Aerium, a philanthropic 501(c)(3) organization established to be a catalyst for change in the aviation sector, focusing on education, workforce development, and creating career opportunities for students in Pennsylvania.

Aerium began as an initiative in the Southern Alleghenies region, uniting aerospace businesses, postsecondary institutions, elected officials, and economic and workforce development leaders to develop an ecosystem of innovation and workforce advancement. During its first statewide summits in 2023 and 2024, feedback from hundreds of key stakeholder attendees – educators, students, parents, business, higher education, government, and military – made it clear that Aerium’s success in the Johnstown area needed to be replicated in regions statewide to help meet the unprecedented aviation job demand and grow Pennsylvania’s aerospace economic footprint. It also provided a model for future industry workforce development; one that starts when kids begin exploring careers, which, according to school counselors, starts in kindergarten, and guides them through to their careers.

What’s Happening in Johnstown and Lehigh Valley

As part of its mission to drive workforce development and prepare students for careers in aviation and drone technology, Aerium donated $50,000 to the Greater Johnstown Career and Technical Center (CTC) and provided its aviation program with new equipment, training and scholarship funds. The donation represents a significant investment in regional students and toward the larger statewide goal of transforming the aviation education pipeline in Pennsylvania. The official check presentation took place on January 23 at GJCTC, when state and local leaders, educators, and students gathered to celebrate the launch of this public-private partnership committed to ensuring student achievement in career and technical education and to leading students and graduates to high-skill, high-wage employment.

Aerium donated $50,000 to the Greater Johnstown Career and Technical Center (CTC) and provided its aviation program with new equipment, training and scholarship funds.

“Today’s investment is about much more than equipment—it’s about laying the groundwork for Pennsylvania’s future as a national leader in aviation and drone technology,” said Aerium Chair Dr. Larry J. Nulton, the guiding force behind the initiative. “By providing students with access to cutting-edge tools and industry-relevant training, we’re not just preparing them for careers—we’re fostering innovation and economic growth for our state.”

Also on hand was Aerium Executive Director Glenn Ponas, who joined the company from this post at the AOPA Foundation’s High School STEM Curriculum, perhaps the most successful aviation career-and-technical-education program in the country. Ponas cited the importance of providing resources such as drones, flight simulators and curriculum but also of fostering career pathways for the future and addressing critical workforce gaps in emerging industries.

Aerium Executive Director Glenn Ponas explains how the GJCTC can play a role in the “hub-and-spoke” model for aviation education in Pennsylvania

“Pennsylvania is diverse in geographic location types, with large rural, urban, and suburban populations,” said Ponas. “So, it’s critically important that Pennsylvania develop a ‘hub-and- spoke’ approach to aviation education that can support diverse regional needs. In the hub model, career and technology centers act as regional ‘hubs’ for accelerated learning with access to advanced technologies and pathways to direct job entry and postsecondary education. Sending schools and districts act as local ‘spokes’ that implement programs that motivate and academically prepare students for success at the regional CTC hubs.”

Aligning with the regional hub-and-spoke model, Aerium’s investment in GJCTC pays dividends to the six school districts – Westmont Hilltop, Conemaugh Township Area, Ferndale, Forest Hills, Richland, and Windber – who can opt to create their own aviation pathway preparation programs to prepare students to attend GJCTC.

The launch concluded with a demonstration of the new equipment in GJCTC’s state-of-the-art simulation lab. Students and educators showcased how the tools will be used to accelerate career preparation, including drone operations, simulator-based flight hours and readiness for FAA knowledge exams.

The GJCTC event is the first of several Aerium donation events across the state. Aerium supports multiple high school aviation programs through its role as an Educational Improvement Organization in the state’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) Program. And it continues to work closely with the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Career and Technical Centers across the state to revolutionize aviation CTE education. Recent successes include the statewide adoption of aviation Classification of Instructional Program Codes, Standard Occupation Classification Codes, High Priority Occupation Designation, and reasonable and rigorous teacher CTE certification standards for aviation programs.

“Today’s investment is about much more than equipment—it’s about laying the groundwork for Pennsylvania’s future as a national leader in aviation and drone technology,” said Aerium Chair Dr. Larry J. Nulton

In the Lehigh Valley, economic and workforce development offices, airports and educators created an aviation maintenance education hub by partnering with Aviation Institute of Maintenance.

“Just introducing teachers and students to the airport and the opportunities available for aviation careers was eye opening,” said Velocity R CEO Mark Cronin who headed up the development. “They had no idea these opportunities existed. They had no idea what training was needed to work at an airport, an airline or a maintenance repair and overhaul facility. The introduction to aviation we provided created an entirely new vision for the future of the workforce.”

The program teamed with Commonwealth Airways CEO Jon Potter, which is underwriting the airframe and powerplant instruction as well as planning to hire graduates.

Nationwide Trend

Aerium’s program leverages two national trends – the shift to career and technical education instead of college and state officials identifying aviation and aerospace as growth industries already experiencing workforce shortages.

I first noticed this trend in 2021 when I saw West Virginia developing pilot and aviation maintenance programs with Marshall University and local airports incorporating both pilot and aviation maintenance training. Recently, it expanded its program with satellite pilot training at Greenbrier Airport.  Prior to these initiatives, the headlines for the state were about the economic misery as we shifted away from coal and the brain drain as students went out of state for college and never returned. West Virginia was an early adopter of aviation and aerospace development as a gateway to economic development.

Since then, teams in Colorado, Oklahoma, Florida, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Washington and Texas have gathered to create regional networks to provide the educational opportunities the industry needs. The Florida Atlantic Workforce Alliance (FAWA) gathered public schools, community colleges and the state’s CareerSource branches in the counties to expand the impact to include such resources as nonprofit STEM education organizations as well as space programs such as the DOD’s Spacebase Academy, a nationwide STEM education program for fifth graders.

Photo Courtesy of Unsplash

One of the greatest needs is determining what workforce needs are as companies from every industry complain about the readiness of the workforce they hire. That was exactly the FAWA focus – aligning efforts to ensure the workforce pipeline meets talent demands in aviation/aerospace, Advanced Manufacturing and IT/Cybersecurity across the region. It invited employers/CEOs, educators, economic development professionals, and community stakeholders to develop the new workforce development initiative.

The lynchpin for changing education was to determine the training businesses along the Atlantic Coast needed so educators could develop the programs for the ultimate workforce readiness. The initiative developed a website for parents and students to explore careers in the focus areas including the pathways and education or training needed to join the workforce. It created a clear line of site from first interest to career.

Through the program Vero Beach-based Piper Aircraft developed a workforce training program in advanced manufacturing for unskilled workers, expanding the pipeline for its aviation manufacturing. Training and Development Manager Al Guzman discussed the benefits of hiring unskilled workers and paying them while they train, saying it delivers employee loyalty and dedication.

One of the problems identified by many of these initiatives is the lack of participation by aviation and aerospace companies. The Greater Johnstown initiative has aerospace companies and airports on board as does the Lehigh Valley initiative.

While Boeing developed its own curriculum – CorePlus – in Washington State and RTX works with the Boys and Girls Clubs of North America, they are the exception not the rule. When asked why the national aviation associations don’t create pipeline partnerships, the groups say they are working on their own pipelines. But when they do combine to support educational efforts, they are powerful as exemplified by the doubling of FAA’s Workforce Development Grants in the latest FAA reauthorization legislation.

At the launch of FAWA’s website, both Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin said their solutions to workforce included upskilling and reskilling. But the vast majority of hiring, observers say, is poaching each other’s employees. This does nothing to develop a new pipeline for future employees which is what these state-wide initiatives are designed to do.

There is also a general recognition that the industry is failing to promote its careers as evidenced by how far behind it is from other industries who have longed tapped the CTE route. I covered this in an article of the American School Counselor’s Association conference. The latest Aviation Technician Education Council’s pipeline report showed we are not filling and the seats available for Airframe & Powerplant training reflecting this failure.

State and local economic and workforce development efforts are changing the game for aviation and aerospace companies. We just need those companies to help expand the K-Career pipeline to solve the industry’s workforce shortages once and for all.

Analysis: We Are Looking at DEI All Wrong

By Kathryn B. Creedy

Photo: Courtesy of Hawaiian Airlines

Many think the anti-DEI activists in ascendency and wreaking havoc in Washington don’t understand diversity, equity and inclusion and are fighting against the tide of practical solutions put in place at companies to address growing workforce shortages. What is sad with the first week of the new administration is the fact that it just made hiring and the desire to work for the government, already struggling to compete against the private sector for employees, that much harder.

The original intent of DEI, which dates back to the nineteen teens, has been distorted so those opposing it really don’t understand it.

“What we mean with DEI is diversity of thought,” said Ivon Aheart who works in the Airlines for America General Counsel office but who was speaking as a private person. “A lot of the myths surrounding DEI is related to race, but it is not just about race. It is about including everyone whether they are facing ageism or whether they are women, the disabled or any other thing that makes them different. It doesn’t have a thing to do with race. It’s about including everyone and doing what is right in terms of benefits and working conditions that benefit the entire workforce.”

Aheart describes DEI as a potluck. “It’s about inviting everyone,” she explained. “It’s about inviting them to bring a dish that might not be liked by everyone, but you must make sure it has fair placement on the table. What we are actually trying to do is turn the tide on how we look at employee programs”

The conversation with Aheart was part of a webinar hosted by Dana Kirchmar’s Ellevate Executive Exchange, a monthly meeting of aviation executives who are tackling some of the industry’s most intractable problems. Recently, the Ellevate Executive Exchange meetings have been about culture, something the Congressionally mandated Women in Aviation Advisory Board identified as a key problem in attracting and retaining a diverse workforce and why that is important.”

United’s Chix Fix MRO Team

Aheart and others on the call acknowledged aviation and aerospace are white male dominated industries. “What is happening today with the attempts to repeal DEI initiatives is designed to halt the progress we’ve made over the past 50 years,” she explained. “But when people understand how many people are actually affected by these programs, they realize their importance. We are not just talking about black and brown people. We are talking about the 60-year-old white man who is about to be laid off because of ageism. We are talking about the disabled, the neurodiverse. There are a lot of other constituencies represented by diversity, equity and inclusion.”

This tallies with recent articles from HR professionals who say they are shifting from DEI to trying to make everyone on the job feel comfortable. But that is easier said than done given the biases already existing in the workforce that we must address.

“The reality is that we don’t live in a society in which identity doesn’t matter — and people with some identities are more likely to be disadvantaged than those with others,” wrote Columnist Perry Bacon in The Washington Post. “There are numerous studies showing unconscious bias that results in employers being less likely to interview someone with a name identified with African Americans for a job. Women on average are paid less than men in part because they are less likely to be chosen for management positions. Because of historic discrimination, African and Native Americans whose families have lived in the United States for generations tend to have less wealth than their White counterparts. Transgender people and Muslims often face direct bigotry.”

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

My take on the anti-DEI movement is they are false prophets. They want a meritocracy but we’ve never had that. Indeed, they have never been judged on their merit. Trying to build one now is not what they intend. If they wanted a meritocracy they’d be fighting for equal opportunity which meets Aheart’s description of DEI as bringing everyone to the table and treating them fairly.

It’s Not About Race

Aheart said it is a mistake to focus on race or any single issue making an employee different, pointing out old ways of recruiting and retaining employees will no longer work as the workforce itself changes. Within the next 20 years, white men will be in the minority.

“What we are trying to say is you can hire someone different, but they bring a diversity of thought and that is important, too,” Aheart said. “What we are trying to do is change the culture to support this diversity of thought and processes because they are important to innovation and success. If you support diversity of thought that means DEI is important to you and to your business. The workforce is changing and adapting and companies must change and adapt. So, diverse employees and employee resource groups are what is changing companies internally, changing the culture. We can’t go back because the workforce and families are more multicultural today.”

While the headlines are about Meta, Amazon, Target and other corporations pulling back from DEI initiatives, there are many other companies sticking with it because it is important to them.

“It’s not about DEI but about the principles that support all employees,” Aheart said, citing Costco, Starbucks and others. “They are finding different ways to communicate that support. They are rearranging where they display LGBTQ+ information and products but retaining their commitment to inclusion.

“When Costco rolled out its position on diversity, it simply said, ‘we are doing this because it has made us more successful,” she continued. “They didn’t change what they believed. They just pointed out they were not changing the policy. ‘This is what we have always done because it works for us,’ and that was the end of the discussion.”

Photo Credit: Kathryn B. Creedy

There is a lot of cover in saying this works for the bottom line. Costco was just reminding us that study after study – from the World Economic Forum to Harvard Business Review – shows diversity is good for the bottom line. The companies who are pulling back because of political winds are ignoring those same studies and are clearly jeopardizing their success.

What About Female Dominated Industries?

An interesting part of the discussion arose when Pro Star Aviation Director of Sales and Marketing Jeff Shaw noted that while aviation may be white male dominated today, other industries have an opposite domination. He noted teaching and nursing are very female dominated. Decades ago, administrators were men and women were the teachers. Today, women are both and dominate the workforce.

Aheart translated that to aviation where flight attendants are mostly women. “We made a concerted effort to recruit and retain male flight attendants,” she said of industry efforts to diversify the cabin environment. “We addressed the uniforms, the training. We reached out to inner cities and recruited at colleges specifically targeting men. We added additional benefits and pay so the profession was equitable for everyone not just a select group.”

She also described many of the problems associated with an industry dominated by one gender or another as an economic issue. “How do you attract more men to teaching,” she asked. “You raise the pay to get more.”

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal agreed that if we want to diversify the teaching profession we must pay more. The argument was not only to recruit men, but to help boys with male role models.

The article and Aheart’s statement, of course, is an indictment of the male dominated system itself in which “women’s” jobs are not valued as highly which is reflected in pay and why we still don’t have equal pay. Advocates call these positions female ghettos and include high-ranking and visible C-Suite executives such as HR and Communications. A true test of progress, they say, will come when women are elevated to operational and revenue producing positions.

To that end Aheart pointed to the ascendancy of Joanna Geraghty as CEO of JetBlue, noting airlines are hiring from within and Garaghty rose through the ranks, putting in the hard work to do so, and ultimately becoming CEO. In addition, American has many women executives in operational and revenue positions positions including Evita Garces, vice president line maintenance and Jessica Tyler, president-cargo and vice president operations innovation & delivery. Delta has Michelle Horn, SVP & chief strategy officer and Alicia Tillman, Chief Marketing Officer. A list of women executives in aviation, aerospace and defense can be found here.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Raising pay and benefits to attract and retain more male flight attendants sends the message and it was okay to underpay and under-benefit female flight attendants, teachers, nurses. The idea for the shift at airlines to recruiting males, however, was to benefit everyone which was successful even if it represented a back-handed complement.

Years ago, I wrote a two-part series on what women pilots were seeking in terms of equity. A point those I interviewed made was the accommodations they were requesting were not just for women pilots but would benefit male pilots, too. “It’s counterproductive to ask for special treatment, based on gender,” they told me. “We don’t want special treatment we want the same for everyone.”

How Airlines, Unions Hurt Women Pilot Recruitment & Retention – Part I

How Airlines, Unions Hurt Women Pilot Recruitment & Retention – Part II

ALPA had opposed any changes to work rules seeing it as a women’s issue while women saw it the way Aheart sees it – as a fairness issue. Similarly, in surveys men agree that the cultural bias we experience is a woman’s problem and they have no role in fixing it. But women did not form the current culture, men did. Even so, our male colleagues are telling women they are expected to solve the disconnect between treatment, pay and equity. That makes no sense.

What ALPA failed to take into consideration was the workforce was rapidly changing to put higher value on work/life balance than on pay. ALPA surveyed its members and found all pilots favored the work rule changes. Its representative ran up to me at a conference and excitedly told me about the change.

“So,” I told him, “let me get this straight. Now that men have given you permission to change the work rules women pilots have been seeking for decades, you are going to make changes?”

Photo Credit: Detroit Free Press — Michigan Reclaims Rosie the Riveter Record

While he insisted that is not how it was, it was clear ALPA was saying women pilots didn’t matter. Only male pilots mattered and now that male pilots wanted to the same accommodations, it would act. What is interesting is that work rule changes were touted in all the latest contracts but not one company or union has defined those changes. 

So, we must address culture to create one that invites everyone under the tent and makes them comfortable. It is not what aviation has today but if we ignore the politics and restore the true meaning of DEI – diversity of thought and experience – we will be better for it. Still, we cannot ignore the imbalances Perry Bacon pointed out in The Washington Post because they exist because of the culture and business practices that have been in place for centuries.

—30—

DEI Cannot Fail

By Kathryn B. Creedy

I was honored to give the commencement address for the 99th Squadron and, as we recover from the election, I believe we must realize DEI cannot fail. Too much is on our side. I hope you’ll spread the message far and wide.

Key Takeaways:
Here’s what we need to know today, right now. Diversity, equity ad inclusion are important to nearly 80% of Americans. You cannot turn back that tide.

You must also know, right now, today, the fact remains study after study shows diversity – reflecting society in your workforce and culture – is key to company success. Selfishly, at the very least, it is for our own good. Socially, it is the right thing to do.

If those who oppose Affirmative Action really cared about being judged on merit, they would be fighting tooth an nail for Equal Opportunity. They are working to make their companies and our country to fail.

Recently, I was given the honor of addressing the commencement of the 99th Squadron, a group of 11 kids graduating from its youth ground school; kids who will go on to make a difference the aviation/aerospace industry simply by their presence. The commencement honored Flight Officer Daniel Keel, who at 102, is a veteran of Tuskegee Airmen, 477th Bombardment Group (45-G-TE), who was guest of honor.

The Daniel Keel Cohort of the 99th Squadron. The class include one girl — Ava Hernandez — front row right.

It was the fifth cohort to for the youth ground school program at the 99th Squadron which has touched the lives of 42 since lauching in 2020.

As we recover from the national election, I thought my commencement message should be spread beyond my small community here on the Space Coast of Florida.

That message is DEI will not fail simply because demographics and society are on our side and the workforce is where we will make a difference.

As I looked out on the small class, a miniscule drop in a vast ocean of what must be accomplished, it gave me hope for the future because I know it will have a mighty impact. This class, and others like it, is the leading edge of change that has long been overdue in this industry.

I’ve become an expert on workforce issues in the last decade, having reported on the workforce shortages and the challenges for corporate America why we have failed to populate our companies and production lines after 30 years of investment and trying. I’ve also covered the shift from college to trade schools and the changes to higher education demanded by industry. Finally, there is the impact of millennials, Gen Z and, now, Alpha, in the workplace and the shift to a more inclusive industry. We are decidedly not there yet but these young people will be part of it.

The generations that came along since the millennials get a bad rap for what they don’t know about how to be on the job but I don’t buy it. What I hear from employers about the lack of discipline in Gen Z and beyond, I see as their failure in training. I see what I call “Millennials +” as forcing change – changes to the work rules, changes in diversity, changes in society – that we have long needed, and which have been beyond our grasp since I entered the workforce.

The Daniel Keel Cohort with members of the previous four cohorts.

At the commencement, I spoke about navigating a future that has become oh so much more controversial than it was even a decade ago. I also played the race card – talking about diversity, equity and inclusion as it should be discussed because I expect it to shadow us for a long time.

Many Hands

99th Squadron is not alone in its efforts to diversify aviation and offer opportunities to folks who don’t think about piloting or other STEM careers. The many, many programs that aim to change our culture is what excites me about the future. Former American CEO Doug Parker formed Breaking Down Barriers in Dallas to engage with underrepresented communities to let them explore aviation opportunities. Students must pay any help they get forward by going back into their schools and community to help others to follow a path to aviation. Among the many similar organizations are Avion Aerostar Institute in Chicago and Infinity Aero Club in Tampa. There is also Fly for the Culture, Fly Compton, Tuskegee Next and Tuskegee University’s new aviation program, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals and Black Pilots of America, who are leading the charge. Don’t forget Sisters of the Skies and Female Aviators Sticking Together among the many organizations representing women.

99th Squadron Leader Ramone Hemphill with Tuskegee Airman Daniel Keel and his daughter

These organizations and many others are not waiting for government because we now it is too dysfunctional. They have their own agency which keeps them focused on their mission of providing opportunities for underrepresented youth.

In short, their young charges are part of a movement just as it is a movement for women and minorities at the dawn of Affirmative Action. But because we are tilting at an entrenched culture, we must have a toolkit to help us fight the good fight.

The Culture

The Congressionally mandated Women in Aviation Advisory Board cited culture as the number one problem for attracting and retaining women in aviation. And, if it true for women, it is also true for other minorities because it is the same culture.

I came to this speech after 40 years as an aviation journalist at the leading edge of the massive influx of women in the workforce. So, my reflections are the experience of a woman who faced the same culture these young people do, a culture of white male dominance. It is sad, but true, that dominance now how power. If you have an appreciation for history, you know the story line that women were given the vote, that women were given their place in the workforce, management ranks and the C-Suite.

And here’s my first lesson.

We were not given anything. We earned it.

The ceremony was attended by local Tuskegee Airmen and others working to bring underrepresnted communities into aviation and aerospace.

Programs such as the 99th Squadron only revealed the possibility of a future these youngsters may not have otherwise thought of. When they took that first step with the squadron, they earned their place in aviation. And they’ll keep on earning it with every rung up the ladder.

Talking Nasty

My speech also covered the nasty neanderthals I’ve met along the way – the ones who shout, argue, put people down and fight for the status quo. A lot of them are pilots. Know this, I told graduates, they are small, pathetic, insecure little people who don’t have any confidence they deserve to be where they are, and they’ll try to take it out on you. In fact, their actions actually constitute a huge threat to improving aviation safety because they reject the basic tenants of crew resource management.

Yes, this isn’t some feel-good movement. This is about aviation safety. Full stop.

I’ve faced a lot of them in my career and, of course, my first reaction was, what is wrong with me. It – whatever it was – was my fault. But if we remember they are tiny, pathetic and insecure it will help us know that it’s them not us. That’s important to know. When we face such adversity, question everything. Is it them not you? If there is truth in what they say, learn from it. If not, know you will follow your own path…and succeed. There’s a lot of grit to be gained from adversity.

Diversity

Here’s what we need to know today, right now. Diversity and inclusion are important to nearly 80% of Americans. You cannot turn back that tide.

Genesis Santana and Laura Pentoja, aviation maintenance graduates of Aviation High School, Queens, NY

You know the stats. About 6% of pilots are women. Blacks make up, what 3.4%? The record is more dismal of AMTs. As for the C-Suite, women only account for 15% but what is it if you don’t count the female ghettos of human resources and public/government/communications relations?

But really it is not just about pilots. It’s about the entire aviation/aerospace workforce whether they sit in front of a computer or behind a wrench.

Giving DEI a Bad Name

DEI has been recast as bad by those who want to keep the status quo in the name of “fairness” to be judged on their “merit.” They think Affirmative Action is unfair and got the Supreme Court to agree. Never mind the unfairness of the last 500 years. That doesn’t count to them.

I reject the rebranding of DEI as bad, out of hand and proudly use diversity, equity and inclusion when discussing changing the culture and the workplace. The mission does not need rebranding, as HR professionals suggest as they pull back from their promises to the Black Lives Matter movement, to satisfy a tiny fraction of people who think Affirmative Action is unfair.

You must also know, right now, today, the fact remains study after study shows diversity – reflecting society in your workforce and culture – is key to company success. Selfishly, at the very least, it is for our own good. Socially, it is the right thing to do.

So, turn that argument about fairness from those who oppose Affirmative Action on its head and you’ll understand how laughable it really is. People who fight diversity are saying they don’t want their company or country to succeed.

When I see pushback on DEI, I double down. I challenge opponents to really describe how unfair affirmative action is. They won’t or, as I suspect, they can’t. If they really wanted to talk about fairness and merit, they would be fighting tooth and nail for equal opportunity. Only when we have equal opportunity can they be judged on merit. Otherwise, they are just continuing to ride on the advantages of being white and male. That’s not being judged on merit at all. This is not a zero-sum game. Affording equal opportunity does not mean someone else loses. It means we will get better, lead more enriched lives, and be more successful.

We are not asking for special treatment. Special treatment is, in fact, counterproductive for the cause. We are asking for equal treatment and there is nothing wrong with that because that’s what those who oppose us say they want. Well, let’s give it to them by demanding equal opportunity.

Demographics Are in Our Favor

Credit: Shutterstock

Here’s where demographics come in. The reality is that we do not have enough white males to go around anymore and we cannot automate our way through our workforce shortages. We MUST widen the aperture of our pipeline to include those who never thought of aviation as a career option if they thought about aviation at all. Otherwise, this industry will fail. This was my second lesson.

These young people are critically important to the success of aviation and aerospace.

The pilot shortage coupled with the pandemic taught us one thing. Airlines cannot grow without a workforce to support its operations whether that workforce is on the flight deck, the maintenance bay or the C-Suite. So, increasing the pilot population is critical to the growth of the industry and those who don’t want to see change don’t want to see their companies or our country succeed. Simple as that. That’s the big picture.

Without these young people, and those like them, we fail.

Luxury of a Well-Lived Career

I post a lot on LinkedIn and I hope you’ll follow me because I have the luxury to say what others can’t. For my readers, I call it lurk and learn. A lot my posts are on aviation’s culture and building the aviation/aerospace workforce and I must be doing something right because I’ve organically a following of thousands and I constantly get notifications say my posts reach in the tens of thousands. I started by fighting the 1500-hour rule which was specifically designed to create a pilot shortage and was, in fact, counterproductive to safety but that’s another story. I’d get a lot of pilots attacking me because I was challenging the union line.

But they were shooting the messenger because I was using arguments against the rule put forth by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Flight Safety Foundation, the Royal Aeronautical Society and indeed other senior pilots who knew the 1500-hour rule was specifically to cause a pilot shortage. In other words, I did my homework, and I did not listen to unions or airlines because I was suspicious of their agendas.

So, when I was attacked personally, I knew they didn’t really care about safety, and I said so. When they refused to engage intellectually, argue on the merits of the issue, I developed a comeback that has helped me navigate this world because our society and our politics.

“I know I’m dealing with a towering intellect when all you can do is personally attack me rather than debating me on the facts.” I’ve found it pretty useful. It shut a lot of them up, but it converted a lot more because they actually cared about aviation safety and realized they were listening to safety experts through my loudspeaker.

Mae Jemison, first African American woman to travel in space, 1992

Perhaps you are not at a place where you can actually say it out loud, but even if you only say it to yourself it helps to put their comments into context with reality.

Aviation/Aerospace: A Great Career on the Cusp of Being Made Better

As I said, these young people are the hope for the future. With them, and their Millennial + counterparts, they will be pushing the boundaries of workforce policies to recognize workers are not cogs in a wheel but humans whose personal life success must equal that of what they contribute to a company. They will be forming a much healthier work-life environment.

I ended my speech with concrete advice on the road to success including the importance of networking and the fact they are already full-fledged members of the aviation industry by taking that first step to take their wings. I also discussed building bridges within the company and finding allies who are not afraid to speak out at neanderthal comments because they know it hurts the team. Thank you for that, Lane Wallace.

I spoke about the importance of paying it forward and, politics aside, the worst thing that has happened to society in my lifetime is the Me Generation. Never let it be all about you, I told them. It’s not how I was raised but is how society is now. As you rise through your career and in life, take every opportunity to reach back and bring someone else along. All you need is the Golden Rule.

Don’t let them isolate you, I told them. When something happens, companies and societies turn it on you – blame you, say you are the only one experiencing whatever it is. Find your tribe and examine what is happening to you within that context. Those who would stop us, start by isolating us, gaslighting us into questioning our beliefs. A tribe will help us find the truth and what it means to our circumstances.

And, I told them to have a plan B because they will have at least four furlough-inducing events during their piloting career – once a decade before 2000. Since 2000 we’ve had four – dot.com bust, 9/11, Great Recession and Covid. What’s your plan B, I asked.

Credit: Fly for the Culture

So, what if you wash out. What if you lose your medical? There’s a lot beyond your control and the system is corrupt. Commercial piloting is not for everyone. My criticism of flight schools is they just let you go instead of walking you across the field and introducing you to their network of flight dispatchers, air traffic controllers or other professions. If they won’t do it, I said, you walk across the field and explore other aviation careers. Even if you start as a gate agent or ramp rat you can rise through the ranks. Just know whatever you do, there’s a place for you in aviation and thousands of careers.

I concluded with the two inspirations that have guided me my entire life.

First: You learn more from those who challenge you than all those who pat you on the back combined. Don’t take it personally. Examine it for truth. Learn from it. Evolve and be better.

I’ve faced some tough times in my career and, if I’ve learned anything, it is this:

When you have come to the edge of all the light you know and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown, know one of two things will happen. There will be something solid on which to stand…or you will be taught to fly. — O.R. Melling, The Summer King.

I’ve earned my metaphorical wings and so will that.

RTX Launches Early STEM Education to Prepare the Future Aviation/Aerospace Workforce

By Kathryn B. Creedy

While many corporate workforce development programs focus on universities or poaching employees from each other. Others target high schools but it has long been acknowledged the industry needs to target very young kids.

That is exactly what RTX – parent company to Collins Aerospace, Raytheon and Pratt & Whitney – is doing with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) by investing in the first-of-its-kind STEM curriculum at clubs nationwide.

Its reach is massive – over 5400 clubs and over three million youth.

The curriculum is a game changer, according to Dr. Michael Kennedy, research professor and director of Science in Society at Northwestern University. Kennedy’s team developed the new curriculum and staff training model to reflect best practices in STEM teaching and learning. He explained it brings a new style of instruction which is being tested over the next three years to establish the efficacy of a holistic STEM Club Model for youth.

“Research tells us that students learn best when they are deeply engaged in the practices of science and engineering,” he told FAAW News noting his team developed the new curriculum and staff training model.

“Rather than having an instructor tell students what to do, they need to be challenged to figure it out themselves,” he explained. “The instructor’s role shifts from being a sage on the stage to a guide on the side. Boys & Girls Club staff don’t need deep STEM content knowledge to effectively facilitate student learning. The students’ own experimental results and collaborative sense-making will lead them to the ‘facts.’ For staff members, it’s learning this new pedagogical approach and building their identities as science educators.”

Indeed, part of the goal of expanding the pipeline, as RTX is doing, is to increase the accessibility and the curriculum by addressing real-world problems kids encounter every day. The model is being tested over the next three years to establish the efficacy of a holistic STEM Club Model for youth.

Workforce of the Future

Kristy Becerra, senior director of Corporate Social Responsibility at RTX, defined the skills under development with its new program with BGCA, skills needed in the workforce of the future.

“We need technical skills and an understanding of basic engineering principles,” she said. “But, as important, is having critical thinking, collaboration and problem-solving skills to complement the technical knowledge. To solve the important problems of the future. You need collaboration and a passion for problem solving. It also takes leadership skills and a strong sense of empathy to really understand the experience around you and be motivated to find solutions. The curriculum gives participants all these skills.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington youth and RTX employees celebrate the national launch of a new, first-of-its-kind DIY STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculum, rolling out across all Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide by the end of 2023. The program, made possible by RTX and in collaboration with Northwestern University, empowers youth to explore STEM learning in an impactful and culturally relevant way, guided by their own curiosity, problem solving and team work on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 in Washington. (Joy Asico/AP Images for BGCA)

“This is how we at RTX are considering future talent,” Becerra continued. “We know that late elementary school and middle school are critical periods especially for kids who are starting to feel excited and have confidence they can do STEM. We also strongly believe in making high quality STEM programs accessible to students from all backgrounds. And beyond programs and curriculum, we want our employees out there mentoring students and showing them career pathways and opportunities. We show them that, with persistence, they can build a career in technology or engineering. The only way to close the STEM gap in the future is widening the pipeline with those who would otherwise not have access to these careers.”

Becerra outlined the rising demand for STEM expertise. “You’ve probably seen the statistics from the labor bureau showing STEM jobs will rise by 11% by 2031 which is five times that of non-STEM careers,” she continued. “Some careers, like computer science and engineering, have a faster rate of growth and we’re reaching an inflection point. RTX realized that if it didn’t look ahead, fielding STEM talent will be an increasing challenge. It feels like a crisis. Our goal was the make technology and engineering exciting and accessible and get employees involved. It just takes one spark to make a difference in a young person’s life. We are finding students who don’t have access and who are in under-resourced communities need to develop a passion for STEM much earlier in their education. The question then becomes how we bring scale to bear for high quality STEM education and working with BGCA was our answer.”

By widening the aperture, the industry naturally becomes more diverse because it taps those who otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to STEM careers. The aperture also includes diversity no one really thinks about – economic diversity.

“Even BGCA clubs that don’t have the cash flow for STEM kits, are enabled to do DIY STEM,” said Becerra, who indicated getting employees involved was a force multiplier. “Our employees want to do more in their communities. Any employee can take what we offer and go to their local club and meet with students. It is a way for us to increase employee volunteerism because we always need more legs to get it to other clubs. We have 180,000 employees and that’s a big network to bring this curriculum to Boys & Girls Clubs.”

Long History with BGCA

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington youth and RTX employees celebrate the national launch of a new, first-of-its-kind DIY STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculum, rolling out across all Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide by the end of 2023. The program, made possible by RTX and in collaboration with Northwestern University, empowers youth to explore STEM learning in an impactful and culturally relevant way, guided by their own curiosity, problem solving and team work on Wednesday, July 26, 2023 in Washington. (Joy Asico/AP Images for BGCA)

RTX has been a longstanding supporter of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, including funding Centers of Innovation for Clubs across 22 sites globally. RTX also supports about 35 BGCA clubs in its communities. In addition, it is the title sponsor for the RTX Invention Convention U.S. Nationals, in partnership with The Henry Ford Museum in which participants must identify a problem that doesn’t have a solution and invent something to solve it. In addition, it supports Girls Who Code to get girls from elementary to high school into coding and robotics, all much needed skills for now and into the future.

“We want to know what is working, where the gaps are,” Becerra said of its efforts to establish efficacy for its programming. “We know there won’t be a silver bullet, and we will undergo an evolution over time, but I think the results will be exciting and enable us to plug in other elements to the BGCA model. It is not just another STEM kit. We are taking everyday problems the kids experience in their own lives and teaching them the critical thinking and problem solving and collaboration to build solutions.

Important Strategic STEM Partner

“The idea is building the resources and developing the teaching models and expecting certain outcomes and this program is testing that,” explained Susan Ciavolino, director of programs and innovation for BGCA. “It encompasses the sum total of all their experiences – field trips, curriculum and reinforcing relationships with each other and industry partners. We expect to show how outcomes are affected by the quality, the staff and the support along with how it impacts a child’s academic performance and career interest. We want to ensure young people find their place in the community and emphasize career development and exploration. We ensure we have role models who look like them who can explain what they can be doing in the future.”

RTX Boys & Girls Clubs of America STEM Program

The curriculum is all about real-world science, added Northwestern’s Kennedy. “When they work collaboratively to explain a scientific phenomemon, they learn how science happens,” he said. “New discoveries most often result from scientists in several disciplines working together. It’s not just one person. It’s the team growing with one another that ultimately makes those breakthroughs.”

Interdisciplinary education and work is a key concept for future workforce as it evolves. Employers are wanting super employees trained across disciplines to enable faster communication and understanding across team members. The military has already started this cross-disciplinary collaboration as critical for success and the Utah Valley University cited a demand for super maintenance employees able to work throughout the aircraft four years ago.

Ciavolino agreed with Kennedy when she said: “This is a hands-on, minds-on program,” she explained. “It puts kids in charge of learning. They are put into teams, and each is assigned a role giving them responsibility for both the project and the team. That makes them feel differently which is an important part of learning and helps them define their own experience. It also gives them the skills they can take to pursue aviation and aerospace careers. Today, STEM can be intimidating but this program makes them feel welcome and makes science and math more accessible. If we are going to change the mindset to be open to STEM careers, it will take a concerted effort.”

Kennedy also explained it upends traditional science teaching. “What is exciting is how Boys & Girls Clubs are rethinking how science and math is done,” he told FAAW News. “Science is normally taught as a set of disconnected facts and recipe experiments. But that is not how scientists work. Scientists seek to explain our natural world through experiments they design. They collaborate and share their knowledge with each other. Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s student-centered approach is authentic to how science is done. Students ask the questions, develop the experiments and collaboratively figure it out. When you see it in action, club kids’ experiments and creativity are really impressive.”

Program Success is Measured in Pursuit of Careers

While this RTX program is new, what the national youth organization has been doing since 2012 is clearly working. “Providing an open, inviting environment shows the progress we are making,” said Ciavolino (right). “According to Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s 2024 Youth Right Now Survey, nearly half (48%) of young people say they would like to have a STEM-related job in the future. The survey also found 82% of youth say they like to participate in science projects and 79% say they are curious to learn more about science, computers or technology.”  

The BGCA initiative, in partnership with RTX, includes staff training on the curriculum, according to Kennedy.

“This is significant because STEM can be as intimidating to adults as it is for kids,” Kennedy told FAAW News. “Importantly, the program reinforces the idea that STEM is a career option for everyone, a key to widening the pipeline. The series of four modules, each with three or four sessions, reinforces lessons by returning to various concepts three or four times.”

One unit is aligned with principles or lift, materials and trajectories while other units emphasized principles very core to aviation, said Kennedy.

“This program is all about empowerment,” said Kennedy. “It is interdisciplinary, student-centered learning. In one unit, students learn concepts of air pressure and forces – that air has mass. It takes force to push an object up or make an object fall. In a second unit, centered on the engineering design process, students design and test paper airplanes comprised of different materials and wing structures. Additional units explore circuitry and electricity, including application of these concepts to build a novel electronic game.

“These are not recipe-based curricula,” Kennedy continued. “All of the questions, experiments, and engineering challenges are student-led. This approach builds kids’ STEM identity – a core self-perception that directly leads to STEM careers. The middle school years are a critical period. If kids enter high school with the idea that STEM is for them, they are two-to-three-times more likely to end up in a STEM career.”

Nor is STEM new for BGCA, according to Ciavolino, who said the national office has been developing culturally responsive programming including all things space, aeronautics and aviation since 2012. RTX previously had a STEM competition on paper airplanes which prompted employees to want to be part of the company’s next-generation workforce efforts.

RTX is a Model to Copy

RTX STEM Program with Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Today, companies are taking many approaches to the workforce with a handful of curricula from CorePlus in the Pacific Northwest and Choose Aerospace from the Aviation Technical Education Council which is teaming with the AOPA Foundation’s High School STEM curriculum to connect kids to STEM using aviation.

By focusing on younger kids, RTX is building a long-tail pipeline and creating an aviation/aerospace education ecosystem to bring together industry and educators to solve workforce shortages once and for all.

Despite millions in workforce development investment by industry over the last 30 years, industry remains on the sidelines of this trend and its participation is necessary to highlight the gaps to achieving a career-ready workforce, and help educators and government develop programs needed to provide it. 

One of industry’s greatest failures is working in silos which is a huge barrier to creating the K-Career pipeline. There is now a nationwide trend toward the creation of regional networks that include all stakeholders — government economic and workforce development officials teaming with K-Collegiate and nonprofit STEAM educators to increase the visibility of technical careers. Industry is largely AWOL or working within corporate confines.

There are remarkable programs that have already reached maturity such as the National Business Aviation Association student initiative which opens up its annual block-buster convention to high school and collegiate students, another model to be copied.

RTX is not alone in connecting the dots between local educators and industry. Airlines are fielding cadet programs and partnering with training professionals to address the pilot and aviation maintenance technician shortages. Maintenance Repair and Overhaul companies such as Duncan Aviation and West Star Aviation have developed their own AMT training programs designed to deliver a ready-to-work employee right out of high school. Regional networks are forming to collaborate on meeting industry needs.

But most of the focus is on older kids. What is needed is the programming and support to not only spark an interest in aviation/aerospace in young kids but the supports to ensure we don’t lose them if they don’t know what the next step is as they transition throughout their education.

In fact there are hundreds of aviation/aerospace non-profit programs throughout the nation. But we must connect the dots with industry workforce development efforts to create the K-Career Aviation/Aerospace Education Ecosystem needed.

Clearly, RTX is ahead of the power curve on early youth education and its partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America is a game changer in more ways than just creating a new curriculum and teaching method. It is connecting the dots for the future workforce.

We are Promoting Aviation, Aerospace Careers All Wrong

By Kathryn B. Creedy

The aviation and aerospace industries are woefully behind the power curve when it comes to promoting aviation/aerospace careers, as evidenced by small participation at the American School Counselors Association (ASCA), a notoriously difficult, but critical, group to reach.

The industry has been talking about approaching school counselors for years and rather than nod again for the umpteenth year, I decided to check it out.

Future and Active Pilot Advisors (FAPA) for years organized an “Aviation Row” at the conference intended to educate the counselors about all aviation careers and sold out the entire row of 16 one year. The organization passed this year because of changes to ASCA’s policies. FAPA is also the only organization, to my knowledge, to have a School Counselor page on its website. But here again we are too siloed. We need to discuss all the careers not just mention flight dispatchers, airport executives, designers, air traffic controllers, aircraft manufacturing, cybersecurity and IT specialists in passing.

“School counselors are one of the top sources of information for students on career requirements,” said Exhibitor Dawn Vinson, executive director of the University Aviation Association, who added the UAA booth was keep very busy throughout the four-day conference. “We had lots of good questions and found counselors had no idea about aviation careers. Unfortunately, students may not receive accurate information to assist in career decisions. Our industry must continue to expand our support of schools and STEM programs during the critical elementary school years. We must also engage with career counselors to expand their awareness of the broad spectrum of careers and education opportunities available across aviation. They have the capability to be change agents for students’ lives. In addition, they may encourage a diverse population of students to pursue aviation by providing information and tools.”

We Must Compete

Aviation and aerospace are not the only industries facing workforce shortages. We must compete in an arena we know little about – Career School Counselors who start career awareness before kids even get to school. I’ve been preaching this for years since I was hooked at age five. While many wonderful programs, such as AOPA Foundation High School Curriculum and EAA’s online courses, have been created along with New England-based Aerospace Component Manufacturers Association high school curriculum and annual career fair focused on manufacturing. There is little for the elementary level and it is here, say counselors, kids begin to explore careers.

“Kids discover careers much earlier than we target them,” said Kasey Dixon on LinkedIn. “Research actually shows that gender norms become established aroind 6-8 years old! This means we are massively alienating a huge future workforce by not ensuring young girls (in particular) are being reached before they’ve been conditioned to think aviation is ‘mens work’.”

Overwhelmed by Other Trades

There were only five aviation entities in attendance at ASCA but it seemed every other profession was there to educate school counselors on their industries and help them promote their jobs to kids.

The conference was in Atlanta so naturally Delta was a big sponsor and had a booth discussing only pilot and aviation technology careers. It also had an education session attended by perhaps 25 counselors who seemed knowledgeable about pilot and tech careers. But its presentation was woefully inadequate to other disciplines including air traffic controllers, flight dispatchers, manufacturing and host of other disciplines that are never mentioned when discussing shortages except in industry circles. ALPA and US Aviation Academy were also there along with the National Business Aviation Association and the Universal Technical Institute, a member of the Aviation Technical Education Council. Aerospace was completely absent.

NBAA’s Business Aviation Insider Student Edition had this great graphic indicating aviation and aerospace careers are more than pilots and maintenance techs.

NBAA Regional Director Southeast Gregory Voos said ASCA was worth it. “Overall, the conference is a worthwhile event,” he told Future Aviation/Aerospace Workforce News. “About 20 stopped by each day. I’ve had few follow-up communications already as a result of the event. Anytime we can get the word out about our industry we must take that opportunity. Our organizations all have unique strengths that should be leveraged to address the workforce challenge.”

US Aviation Academy Vice President Business Development Scott Sykes agrees.

“Counselors were interested, and we talked to about 100 individuals including some vendors,” he said. “They were generally aware of aviation careers from the news but had little idea how to get into them. Some knew of local colleges, but few had any idea about vocational training paths. Even those who knew of aviation colleges, didn’t really understand the career opportunities, training costs, and overall pathway.

“I agree the industry needs to get involved! There is a lot of opportunity out there,” he continued. “I use my position as board member of Flight Schools Association of North America and Aviation Technical Education Council extensively just to promote aviation as a whole and offer advice on schools that may be nearby the counselor’s respective district. We also did some work promoting Choose Aerospace and its scholarships.”

Meanwhile, there were a dozen sessions on what school career counselors do and how they can develop effective career-development programs. I attended them all.

Aviation, Aerospace Way Behind

As I walked the exhibit floor, it was clear aviation and aerospace didn’t have a clue on the importance of this event. I found an entire section devoted to the building trades with individual booths from the carpenters’ union, fire sprinkler industry, HVAC, plumbing, plasterers, sheet metal workers, bricklayers, roofers and electrical contractors. Other industries included architects, opticians, jewelers, surveying, pharmacy, cybersecurity, physician assistants, trucking, actuaries, maritime and even the RV industry which is competing with us for maintenance techs and manufacturing. Then there is the military with all branches presenting and sponsoring events. There was even a booth for the $24 billion event/trade show exhibit makers which has more than three million jobs for designers, videographers, interior designers, graphic designers, electricians, welders, painters.

Earn While You Learn

Speaking of competing. Building trades unions have earn-while-you-learn programs paying for the training so there is no cost barrier to join the industry as we have in aviation. One told me current union members fund this and then, once the students enter the career, they pay it forward. The message to counselors is they can join the industry with free certification education. The closest we get is the AOPA Foundation curriculum but, even here, aspiring pilots still face hundreds of thousands of dollars in training to get to the right seat. Meanwhile its aviation maintenance track goes a long way to get them into the workforce.

Pipefitters, HVACR Service Techs, Steamfitters, Sprinkler Fitters, Welders & Pipeliners Union was part of North America’s Building Trades Union section at the American School Counselors Association. Photo Credit: Kathryn B. Creedy

For credentialed professions such as aviation maintenance technicians and flight dispatchers, the aviation industry needs to compete by funding both training and the testing for their certification, a huge reason our AMT graduates gravitate toward theme parks and other disciplines who need maintenance technicians. The $250,000 in flight training costs for pilots is a tougher nut to crack but given how unions are funding the next generation of workers in other fields, this is something we need to figure out. Airlines meanwhile are fronting the costs for a select few but requiring the loan to be paid back while other trades are touting their students come out debt free.

“While you want to engage with counselors, the financial investment required for aviation careers is an eyebrow raiser,” noted Rikeshia D. in response to my first LinkedIn Post about the conference. “From the aviation perspective, until funding and scholarships are more accessible there will be understandable hesitance from schools. Exploratory, hands-on programs for students are a smart investment on behalf of aviation companies.”

Canadian-based Lori Payne, co-founder and president of Project Blue World, agreed. “We need to set up apprenticeship opportunities for our youth in every province and state,” she posted on LinkedIn. “Let’s add AMEs and all the sub-categories, engine technicians, propeller techs, avionics, accessories, painters, test technicians and all the business-related jobs such as customer service reps, accountants, purchasers, planners, fleet maintenance engineers, repair technicians…let’s get kids involved!”

ASCA exhibitors are poaching potential employees who could work in aviation because school counselors don’t know about aviation and aerospace. All these professions are investing in educating school counselors so why isn’t aviation and aerospace?

Welders channel Rosie the Riviter in its brochures. Photo Credit: Kathryn B. Creedy

Diversity groups were there as well with Career Girls and Distinguished Young Women promoting more women in STEM and developing programs to achieve those goals. They could be working with Women in Aviation International, Association for Women in Aviation Maintenance, Women in Aerospace, Women and Drones, Women Military Aviators, the 99s, Sisters of the Skies, and Aviation Women Inspiring the Next Generation (AWING) to promote women in aviation careers. Together, we could be a force multiplier and attract more women to aviation and aerospace in the bargain. Imagine what would happen if we combined the efforts of Career Girls, Distinguished Young Women and Women in Aviation’s Girls in Aviation Day!

Industry-Wide Participation

Since school counselors are hard to reach, we cannot leave it to these few entities to promote aviation and aerospace careers. ASCA has a scholarly magazine, but it does not publish the kind of articles we need school counselors to read. The ASCA conference is really the only way to approach school counselors with effective messaging.

We need an industry-wide push to define all careers, develop the content, videos and website school counselors can reference to help them help us. If we want to reach the students, we need to raise the awareness of our careers amongst school counselors who already recommend tech schools to students.

More importantly, school counselors are already working with a host of exhibitor companies that have developed career information platforms including Xello, Pathful, Major Clarity, SkillPointe, and Skilled Career Coalition. They already have at least two aviation careers as I scrolled through their programs. One highlighted an Alaska Airlines female captain – extra points for that – and the other was an aerospace engineer. We need to ensure they have the entire menu aviation and aerospace careers and how to get to them. Worktour makes day-in-the-life videos for different professions while Skilljam has a docuseries premiering this fall. It’s America’s Dirtiest Jobs for the rest of us.

Questions from school counselors included whether we had any programs for the disabled and I was able to tell them yes. Since the conference, I have shared Mitre, NGA, Feds Launch Neurodiversity Pilot Program with counselors I met. In addition, there is Able Flight focusing on connecting people with disabilities to the challenges of flight and aviation career training. We must leave no one behind.

We do not have to reinvent the wheel. We just need to copy what other professions are doing and work with these companies to incorporate aviation and aerospace careers into the school counselor career portfolio starting in Pre-K. This is important because counselors were excited when I began discussing aviation careers. They asked if there were a website that put all the information together in one place. Nope, although FAA has one that needs to be more TikTok. So, that should be our top priority a one-stop-shop for information on aviation and aerospace careers, for aviation education programs and for corporations who need employees.

The Aerospace Education Program Alliance and Shaesta Waiz’s Dream Soar both have a one-stop-shop website as a mandate. We need it yesterday, according to school counselors. I have a list of aviation/aerospace education programs on my website, but hundreds of programs need to be added to make it complete and it needs to be organized by state.

Everyone agrees such a thing is needed but how do we get there? Who’s going to pay for it? And can we work together beyond our parochialism to make it happen?

Piquing Their Interest

School counselors don’t promote industries to kids. They educate kids using the tools mentioned above about careers and then spend time getting to know their interests. It’s really a dating game. They match those interests to careers but if they don’t know about aviation/aerospace careers there are no matches. Elementary school counselors then hand off to their counterparts in middle and high school who build on each other’s lessons to develop ambitions in the kids and teach them what they need to achieve their goals.

FAPA indicated school counselors are hungry for information. “Our presentations about the pilot profession were always standing room only,” said Smith. “In the past, we would produce a drawing and give away two free round-trip airline tickets for the winner to attend ASCA in the subsequent year. The airlines (Southwest, American & Piedmont, etc.) would usually provide those to us. ASCA officials would announce the drawing for free tickets at some of their large gatherings and encourage attendees to stop by Aviation Row to register. To register for the free tickets, counselors were required to visit each vendor in Aviation Row. It worked very well for everyone. The counselors loved Aviation Row and the ticket drawing, and ASCA would announce the winners at their closing presentation for all the counselors.”

Smith explained FAPA’s absence this year citing changing ASCA policies. “We wanted to establish Aviation Row as we have in the past,” he reported. “In the past, ASCA would provide FAPA a complimentary booth at the head of the Aviation Row, and we would solicit appropriate aviation companies to purchase a booth. ASCA would provide a discount on the booth prices since we were selling them for ASCA without any commission, just a 10 x 10 booth. It was a lot of work for us but enjoyable. The new ASCA conference organizers refused to collaborate with FAPA on any of our initiatives this year. Since the show is a no-revenue event for us and is basically an act of charity and good PR, we decided we will return to ASCA when they return to their senses.”

In response, ASCA said it does not discount exhibit and/or sponsorship pricing.

What is An Aviation Career?

NASAO and FAI Sponsor an Aviation Art Contest annually. Credit: NASAO

We must also broaden the definition of aviation career. I’ve used social media for years to promote aviation careers because we don’t know where artists, fashionistas, designers and school tinkerers will eventually end up when matching their interest to aviation and aerospace. For instance:

  • Interested in art? There’s a place for you in aviation. Airlines and airports need art curators for their lounges and concourses.
  • Interested in animals? There’s a place for you in aviation. Cargo carriers and business aviation companies have animal wranglers responsible for everything from pandas to quarter horses while airports have Arks to take care of traveling pets and other animals.
Credit: Embraer Executive Jets
  • Interested in interior design? There’s a place for you in aviation. Aircraft manufacturers need interior designers.
  • Interested in being a chef? There’s a place for you in aviation. Inflight airline and business aviation service is a very important part of success.

Aviation & Aerospace Must Be More Strategic

Career promotion in aviation and aerospace is very siloed. Everyone promotes their own sector as well they should. But that ignores the fact we need to put parochial interests aside in favor of creating content from the 35,000-foot level before we can help students navigate to a particular aviation/aerospace industry runway. We need to attract them to aviation and aerospace first. It is only then we can break down the different sectors and careers to help them narrow their choices and funnel them into airlines, business aviation, manufacturing.

Can the aviation groups in Washington chip in to create and fund developing what is needed for those ASCA exhibitors who already work with career counselors?

Aviation and aerospace largely rely on someone else to do the heavy lifting including the ponderous federal government and Congress. We are seeing an increase in FAA’s Workforce Development Grants working its way through the reauthorization process but there are thousands of deserving programs. Those efforts must continue but in order to compete, it is clear the industry must do more.

Will it pony up to create faster and nimbler programs on our own or continue to struggle waiting for the government or Congress?

As for me, I’m already tuned in to the aviation education community but welcome more connections. I plan to discuss my experience at ASCA with those I already know in hopes of creating a coalition to create the content we need, work with the career platforms and link to ASCA. Our aviation and aerospace associations alone are pretty powerful.

But it is clear industry career awareness efforts needs to pivot. Join me – kcreedy@kathrynbcreedy.com or on LinkedIn and Facebook where I post about aviation and aerospace workforce issues and reach out to aviation student organizations.