State aerospace organizations seek to educate, recruit more interest in technical jobs

• April 19, 2010
  
  

  Heide Brandes

  According to the Oklahoma Aerospace Alliance, the state’s aerospace industry is responsible for more than 143,000 jobs, a $5 billion annual payroll and nearly $12 billion in industrial output – or about 10% of Oklahoma’s economy.

  Yet it is becoming increasingly difficult to find qualified employees to fill those high-paying jobs. High demand and low awareness have created a shortage of instate prospects.

  Oklahoma is taking steps to change that. With a stronger push in technical education and state incentives for companies and employees alike, the state wants to ensure that maintenance, overhaul and repair industries have a pool of qualified workers to fill their needs.

  UP IN THE AIR
  The Oklahoma Aerospace Alliance will once again present the annual Oklahoma Aerospace Summit and Expo June 1-4 at Cox Business Services Convention Center, featuring high-level executives, from Lockheed Martin Corp., The Boeing Co., the National Business Aviation Association and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

  “The summit is known for focusing on military and commercial aerospace; however, the agenda includes speakers from the broader aerospace industry, as well,” says Mary Smith, executive director of Oklahoma Aerospace Alliance. “Business and general aviation, manufacturing and unmanned aerial systems speakers are also featured on this year’s summit agenda.”

  In previous years, the event has drawn as many as 1,000 attendees and more than 100 exhibiting companies from across Oklahoma and surrounding states, such as Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri and Arkansas.

  Because Oklahoma’s aerospace industry faces a critical shortage of talent, the lack of technical workers places its sector – private and public – at a competitive disadvantage when attempting to secure commercial and government contracts.

  In 2008, the state took action to address that shortage with the passage of House Bill 3239, which provides tax credits to aerospace companies hiring engineers and engineering graduates.

  Effective January 2009, the bill offers 10% of the qualified wage for an Oklahoma-educated employee for one to five years of employment, or 5% of the wage for an employee from a non- Oklahoma institution. The bill also offers tax credits up to $5,000 for engineering graduates who work at an Oklahoma company for up to five years, and an employer tax credit of 50% of tuition reimbursed to a new engineer graduate for the first four years of employment.

  “We need to work hard to make sure we are doing all we can to attract future employees,” says Bob Conner, director of Oklahoma Aerospace Institute. “The average wage in Oklahoma is $30,000, and the average wage in the aerospace industry is $55,000. It’s higher because the jobs tend to be high-tech and require training beyond a high school diploma.”

  Victor Bird, director of Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission, says by mid- November 2009, approximately 130 engineers were hired who received the tax credit through the bill, based on an impact study focusing on 10 state companies.

  “Based on that, I’d say about 170 engineers have been hired for the 2009 year,” says Bird. “That will come out with a cost of about $1.5 million in tax credits, but the economic impact of hiring those 170 engineers is about $132 million.”

  Natalie Shirley, secretary of commerce and tourism, and executive director for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, says nearly $61 million in state sales tax revenue is generated by the industry, with one in 10 Oklahomans receiving his or his revenue through aerospace.

  “We are working on incentives to encourage expansion of business and to attract aerospace business to Oklahoma,” she says. “Oklahoma, its image in the aerospace industry, isn’t necessarily a bad one, but it’s one that needs to be written. We are looking at campaigns in the major markets to educate those beyond our borders about locating here.”
   

  HIGHER EDUCATION
  Gordon Cooper Technology Center in Shawnee has a waiting list of students anxious to enroll in aviation maintenance technology, an 18-month program certified and approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for airframe and power-plant training.

  Students receive the basics in aviation maintenance technology in order to service, repair and overhaul various components and systems, including electrical, hydraulic and fuel.
  “Tinker Air Force base is the biggest employer in the state and the biggest aviation employer in the state, and they have a tremendous need,” says Ron Davis, director of aviation at Gordon Cooper. “When you have 9,000 mechanics at Tinker, you’ll have many who are retiring. Backfilling that need  at Tinker is what we’ve been doing for 10 years now. The AAR at Will Rogers Airport also services the Boeing 737s, the MD-80s and the CR-Js, so they also have a need for educated mechanics there.”

  Students from the program intern at Tinker or at the AAR, and Davis says the demand is increasing.

  “There is a high demand for educated workers in this area, and we get countless calls a day from students interested in entering the program,” he says.

  Getting potential students interested in science, technology, engineering and mechanics is key to being able to fill the high-demand jobs in Oklahoma’s aerospace industry, says Conner.

  “The big news is that Tinker is in the middle of a hiring surge,” he says. “The Air Logistics Center is bringing in new workloads, and they are hiring about 1,000 new people. What that has done is put a strain on the available workforce.”

  Anticipating the industry’s long-term educational needs is key to providing an educated pool for employers, Conner says.

  “We have a superb educational system in the state that produces welleducated prospects, and we’re lucky to be able to produce these skills in-state,” he says. “The challenge we face is forecasting the needs of the industry to get ahead of the curve. There are constant changes in technology, and we need to build a pipeline with industries and companies with the educational system to provide work.”

  During the Oklahoma Aerospace Summit and Expo, state teachers and school counselors are invited to learn about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mechanics) education and how to get students excited about these fields. Conner says generating excitement now is vital.

  “When I was growing up, every little kid wanted to be an astronaut. There was a real buzz about the aerospace industry back then that doesn’t exist today. It’s not a big deal for the public to see a space shuttle go up anymore,” he says. “One of the challenges we face is creating a buzz about the aerospace fields. We hope the Aerospace Education and Training Day during the summit will help teachers and counselors understand more about the industry and its possibilities.”

  Getting students interested is a challenge facing the country, not just the state, Bird says.

  “It’s most alarming that in the top 15 engineering schools in the country, aerospace ranks dead last in career choices,” Bird says. “Aerospace and defense has a $61 billion surplus for last year, and that’s because our people are the best and the smartest. What we have to do now is renew that interest in those careers.”
  
  HIGH-FLYING INDUSTRY
  According to OK CareerPlanner, 72,535 are employed in the Oklahoma aerospace industry, with the wage averaging $15 per hour. Oklahoma aerospace sectors include:

  • military aviation, including 25,000 military and civilian workers at Tinker Air Force Base;
  • aircraft, spacecraft and aeronautical systems manufacturing;
  • major centers for maintenance, repair and overhaul, of planes large and small;
  • flight training;
  • air traffic control; and
  • research and development.

  Between new job creation and the rapidly retiring baby boomer workforce, thousands of jobs will need to be filled in Oklahoma’s aerospace industry through 2014.

  This is a sampling of the types of jobs in hot demand, based on a 2006 survey of aerospace employers:
  
  Aerospace Engineers 429
  Mechanical Engineers 1,548
  Industrial Engineers 572
  Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technicians 572
  Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians 1,615
  Helpers/Production Workers 3,422
  Welders, Cutters, Solderers and Brazers 2,573
  Sheet Metal Workers 1,180

  Read More at OKCBiz