The deficit of specialised engineers in aircraft maintenance has been documented and is evident throughout the industry. The 2015 Boeing Pilot and Technical Outlook (2015 Boeing Pilot and Technical Outlook) estimates that the aviation industry will require more than 609,000 engineers over the next two decades. There is an increasing need to find more effective ways to attract people to the aviation sector and to create a sustainable flow of aircraft maintenance engineers with the right skills.
The aviation sector will need more than 609,000 engineers over the next two decades.
The Aviation Skills Partnership (ASP) works with training organisations, companies and the education sector to create new and innovative training programmes that integrate practical skills and academic qualifications. These programmes are part of new career paths leading to different jobs within the different areas of aviation, which identify and provide the necessary skills from primary education to the very top of the industry. By introducing these pathways, ASP is partly delivering on its Aviation Skills Manifesto, which was recently launched in the UK House of Commons.
The ASP works with schools and other educational institutions to ensure that the courses they offer provide students with the knowledge and skills necessary for their future responsibilities. In response to the shortage of specialist staff, the ASP develops solutions for the acquisition of aviation competencies which will meet the needs of the sector. Examples of successes in this area include the university's Higher Apprenticeship BSc, Hons programmes for aircraft maintenance engineers and professional pilots. More than 100 students have already enrolled on the pilot programme and the first graduates are now flying as first officers with major UK airlines.
The engineering degree will be delivered by the University of East Anglia and the University of South Wales and the first courses will start in September. These degrees are fully based on practical knowledgeThere is no need to go to universities. Trainee engineers complete all their studies and practical work at approved training institutions.
In the case of the University of East Anglia, the engineering programme will be delivered in collaboration with KLM-UK Engineering and City College Norwich at an International Aviation Academy site.TM purpose-built aircraft at Norwich Airport. The academy will be equipped with a passenger aircraft, provided by KLM UK, and a commercial helicopter, both in full working order. This innovative environment, known as the "Emulation Zone", willTM (Emulator), will enable trainee engineers to accumulating practical experience to be taken into account as part of the experience required for licensing.
This training model has proven to be very useful and other aviation academy hubs are being established in strategic locations across the UK.
The key to this success is that the ASP has insisted that the pathways and programmes meet all the requirements of the industry, education authorities and regulatory bodies. The various partners of the ASP have been involved in the development of the programmes from the outset, with the aim of ensuring that that the programmes will be relevant and bring value to companies.
This is therefore very good news for young people aspiring to work in the aviation sector, as well as for those companies that are finding it difficult to recruit enough staff with the right skills to meet the needs of the business to secure their future.
