Summit: Aerospace industry needs educated workforce
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June 14, 2011
TULSA – Industry and educational leaders beat the drum for science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs during the second day of the Aerospace Summit and Expo on Wednesday.
For the fourth straight year, the second day of the summit is Aerospace Education and Industry Partnership Day, which is dedicated to workforce and educational development.
Speakers emphasized the importance of the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, programs.
More of these courses are needed, said Oklahoma State Superintendent of Education Janet Barresi, who spoke at the Tulsa Technology Riverside campus on Wednesday.
“Teachers are hungry for these courses,” Barresi said.
The summit has supported teachers throughout the state and educational advancements in STEM programs, said Ben Robinson, Aerospace Education and Industry Partnership planning committee chairman.
Three groups – the Oklahoma Aerospace Alliance, Oklahoma Aerospace Institute and the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics – are cooperating to provide a venue for the aerospace industry and education, Robinson said. The goal is to revive interest in the opportunities that aerospace offers, he added.
“The hope is that by inspiring educators and providing them with tools to use in the classroom, a base of students will grow to fill the job opportunities and much-needed skill sets throughout the state,” Robinson said.
Oklahoma, a leader in career-technology education and training, is already doing so many things right, Barresi said.
“These are a platform to jump forward – courses like pre-engineering and biotechnology,” she said. “These programs are for students seeking job skills so they can go directly to work.”
At the same time, the state’s education system is allowing high school students with college credit hours in their pocket, Barresi said.
“We want to offer them the opportunities to prepare for industry now,” she said.
The challenge today is to teach children how to think, Barresi said.
“We are focusing on literacy – both reading and mathematics. We need to give them the tools so that work is not such a daunting task,” she said. “We have to do better in those areas.”
Nationwide, many students are unable to enlist in the military, for example, because they failed to graduate from high school or have a criminal record, said Phyllis Hudecki, Oklahoma’s secretary of education. Hudecki spoke during the workforce panel discussion.
“It should be state policy that we retain students in the third grade if they are not able to read – face it – if you cannot read you cannot do anything,” Hudecki said. “And students have to have analytical skills to be able to reason and solve problems.”
Schools must change instructional methods so students are grounded in math and science at a number of levels, she said.
“They have to have a foundation so that once they are beyond high school, they can learn and progress in the exciting industries in the state,” Hudecki said.
Industry executives ought to be sent into eighth-grade classrooms to encourage the teens to take hard courses, she said.
“They need to be encouraged to enroll in these difficult courses in ninth grade, which will help them for the rest of their lives,” Hudecki said.
Sharon O’Neal, engineering director for Raytheon Missile Systems, took the idea of going into the classroom to another level.
O’Neal organizes entire science days for students in her home in Arizona. The science fairs introduce children to basic scientific and engineering concepts using everyday materials. For example, O’Neal arranged for hundreds of children to wind up rubber band-powered airplanes.
“Imagine the scene when all these kids released their planes at once,” O’Neal said.
O’Neal called on industry executives to create similar programs in Oklahoma.
“I will come here and train you,” she said.
Gone are the days when a mechanic with a greasy rag in his pocket worked under a tree, said Phil Birkenbile, state director of the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education.
“That does not happen anymore,” Birkenbile said. “Today, mechanics have to be smart and they have to continue their education – they have to have a lifetime of learning.”
There is certainly opportunity in aerospace, said Rachel Hutchings, corporate relations manager at American Airlines. Hutchings also spoke during the workforce panel discussion.
The shortage of qualified employees is a common theme, she said.
“In February, Lockheed Martin said they would need 100,000 new workers by 2014 – that is more than they have in their workforce today,” Hutchings said.
Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines operates the largest commercial aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul base in the world in Tulsa. More than 6,700 employees average a $63,208 annual wage, Hutchings said.
The issue today is that 80 percent of the maintenance workers are 50 years old. Engineers’ average age is 43, she said.
“Tomorrow these workers will need the same skills as they need today, but more math and science as we are using more advanced materials,” Hutchings said.
Aerospace, energy and the pipeline sector are all competing for the same workforce, Hutchings said.
“Tomorrow’s workforce is in today’s classroom,” Robinson said.
