The recently published 2012 Boeing Pilot & Technician Outlook prediction of demand for 185,600 pilots and 243,500 new aircraft technicians in the Asia-Pacific region through 2030 has a potentially significant impact on the U.S. industry. Sarah MacLeod, executive director of the Aeronautical Repair Station Association, told AIN, “It is not shocking that blue-collar workers are needed around the world; every country is struggling with the same problem, how to entice the younger generation to skilled jobs. The impact in the U.S. will be judged by how well we’re willing to treat and compensate our hands-on labor force.”

Dale Forton, president of the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association, told AIN, “I believe over the next 15 years the industry will become more involved in children’s career education at the sixth to eighth grade level. The need is already there as children think of a mechanic as a low-tech position. The school system isn’t teaching students that aircraft maintenance is not low tech and offers many opportunities. If our industry is to meet the demands of the future we have to do a better job of selling it to our children today.”