Charter Accomplished, More Work Ahead

Opening Remarks

Thanks, Jeannie. And thanks to everyone for joining us today for this update.

This coming Monday, May 24, happens to be Aviation Maintenance Technician Day. As a former fighter pilot, and commercial aviator, there is nothing more important than having a safe, fully functioning aircraft. Aviation Maintenance Technicians make sure we have it.

This day is a chance to pay tribute to some of the hardest working and dedicated people in the industry. They are unsung heroes who make it possible for people to safely fly and for us to have a vibrant aerospace system.

In the coming years, we’re going to need a lot more aviation maintenance technicians.

We’re also going to need new pilots, engineers, dispatchers, and air traffic controllers. We’re going to need more mechanics and drone operators.

And we’re going to need cybersecurity specialists, data analysts, programmers, developers, and other professionals who play an essential role in the modern aerospace field, which as we know is evolving rapidly.

Both the FAA and industry are making it a high priority to attract this future workforce.

Prior to COVID-19, there was an urgency surrounding the potential shortage of employees in the pipeline to fill critical positions, notably pilots and mechanics.

We were already seeing an aging workforce. And retirements were sped up to some extent by the pandemic.

But when it comes to attracting the next generation, the aerospace field faces challenges.

There is strong competition from other sectors.

There are also higher training costs and time commitments, especially for new pilots.

Add onto that quality of life issues, a desire for schedule predictability, and job volatility because of the cyclical nature of some segments of our industry. It can all be discouraging. 

When we face complex challenges like these, the FAA will periodically form executive oversight committees and virtual offices with time-limited charters, so we can make special efforts in areas that require cross-agency collaboration.

That’s what we did here. We formed the FAA Aerospace Workforce Steering Committee in early 2019. It was an outcome of an FAA-sponsored symposium with industry, government, and academia on potential workforce shortages for pilots and mechanics.

The initial purpose of this Committee was to follow up on industry recommendations and to maintain the momentum within the FAA and with our partners.

This Committee also became a forum to implement the FAA’s STEM and Aviation and Space Education goals and objectives, and implement the agency’s many Congressionally-assigned workforce provisions in our 2018 Reauthorization bill.

Fast forward two years later – this Steering Committee has now accomplished its charter and will soon be sunset. The Committee’s specific initiatives have now been embedded into the FAA’s strategic goals and plans.

Let me say a firm thank you to all of our stakeholders. We very much appreciate your input, recommendations, and partnership.

Today, as Jeannie said, we will update you on the Committee’s progress to date, and provide you with the points of contact in the agency who will continue to lead the enduring initiatives and programs.

Thank you again, and now our Deputy Administrator Brad Mims will stress a few points.

Closing Remarks

This has been a great session. I appreciate the continued engagement by everyone throughout this community.

The Aerospace Workforce Steering Committee has achieved its founding purpose. We’ve embedded these efforts and programs into the agency’s strategic plans.

We have several efforts to be proud of:

STEM programs like Adopt-a-School and the Airport Design Challenge.

Also, we launched the Aviation Workforce Development grants.

And we stood up the Women in Aviation Advisory Board and the Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force.

We’ve also looked at ways to reduce regulatory barriers to entry to an aerospace career. We’ve looked at ways to make the pathways easier.

And we’ve made good progress on implementing four new grant programs that will be further tools for developing the future workforce. 

We look forward to our continued work with you to conduct education and career outreach.

Years from now, we’ll look back and know that the efforts we are all making today – as an aerospace community – brought about the vibrant, diverse workforce that will be second to none in the aerospace field throughout the world tomorrow.

Thanks everyone. And please continue to stay safe.

Pride and Professionalism

Thank you, Sarah [MacLeod]. Hello everyone. I’m happy to speak with you today, although I hope in the near future we’ll be able to meet in person.

Let me start with the bottom line: the success and safety of the aviation system owes a great deal of credit to Aviation Maintenance Technicians.

You don’t make the headlines. But at the end of the day, your work speaks volumes about pride and professionalism. The honest-to-goodness hard work that doesn’t just get the job done, it gets it done right.

And we must maintain this strong safety culture, as we deal with the many changes and challenges in aviation now.

Changing Industry

COVID-19 has shown us just how rapidly things can change. Some airline business models have changed. In some cases, they’ve shifted operations to different airports. Some passenger carriers have gone into cargo. And some airlines are retiring old aircraft and replacing them with a new modern fleet.

These changes can introduce new stressors on the safety of the system. I know that repair stations have taken on added tasks like long-term storage of aircraft. You’ve had to wear PPE on top of your standard protective equipment. And you’ve had to socially distance while also working in teams to get the job done. All of this makes the job more difficult.

Adding on top of that, the tremendous innovation in aerospace. Like drones, rockets, air taxis, and supersonic transport.

As a community, we must strive to stay ahead of these changes.

Safety

And we must strive for continuous improvement in reducing safety risk.

As commercial aviation recovers from COVID-19, we’ll be bringing back aircraft into service. In addition to maintaining the current fleet, there will be the added work of bringing back the 737 MAX. We have to make sure that maintenance continues to be performed at an outstandingly safe level.

We have a rulemaking effort underway to expand Safety Management Systems into repair stations. It’s too soon to provide any details until we issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

While we work to implement the new rules, we continue to encourage voluntary adoption of SMS. I want to thank those who have an approved SMS process in place, and those that have submitted applications.

The FAA continues to look for innovative ways to improve our safety processes. Because of COVID-19, we’re making more use of virtual means to conduct certification and surveillance.

For instance, a repair shop in Louisiana wanted to get an additional rating so they could provide a plasma spray service for their commercial aircraft customers.

They made a video of the process. And as long as our inspectors were satisfied with the currency and clarity of the video, they could issue the new rating. Once COVID-19 is over, we anticipate continuing to use remote technologies as part of our safety processes.  

The FAA’s Office of Aviation Safety is also putting a big focus on consistency in applying regulations. We know you don’t want an FAA inspector in one part of the country applying the rules differently than an inspector in another part.

To improve consistency, we stress the need for inspectors to exercise critical thinking and consult with each another when they address regulatory issues. We build this focus into our inspector training.

International

Of course, the safety of MRO’s is a global effort. We continue to work with other States to establish bilateral safety agreements and through ICAO to address safety concerns in the most efficient way.

For repair stations, we have established bilateral agreements with certain member states – Canada, the UK, European Union, Switzerland, Singapore and Brazil – to share surveillance work. This helps reduce the regulatory burden.

There is ongoing work at ICAO to harmonize certification standards for repair stations. The FAA is actively participating in that work. There are many legal and safety issues that still need to be worked out before that can happen.

Future AMT Workforce

With regard to the future workforce, we are concerned about the shortage of AMT’s – a shortage that existed well before COVID-19. I’ve seen estimates that this industry will need as many as 10,000 new technicians each year for the foreseeable future.

The FAA has been assisting the Department of Defense on a program that provides civil aviation maintenance training to service members, veterans and their families. This training can be a springboard to future training to become FAA-certified A&P mechanics.

We also meet with ARSA on a quarterly basis to focus on future workforce strategy. And we’re working with groups like the Aviation Technical Education Council and Helicopter Association International to attract young people to the aviation field. We’ve worked with these partners to streamline the delivery of aviation training and provide focused training in segments like commercial aviation, helicopters, unmanned aircraft, and avionics.

We’re also working with the Choose Aerospace organization to develop aviation maintenance curriculums for high school students. These efforts will encourage students to check out aviation maintenance as a potential career field.

In addition to the overall shortage of AMT’s, there’s a shortage of diversity too. For instance, women are underrepresented in the AMT ranks, as well as other technical ranks in aviation. We want the best, brightest, and most diverse group of people from all walks of life. We want to recruit more women, minorities and people from underserved communities to join us in meeting our aviation safety goals. So let’s continue to put a focus on that.   

In closing, I want to express my appreciation again for the pride and professionalism that aviation maintenance technicians demonstrate every single day. And thanks again for collaborating with us to ensure safety and recruit the future AMT workforce. We look forward to continuing our work with you in the years ahead.

Thank you. I’m happy to take a few questions.

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