AAR has been selected by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office as aviation industry partner for a new education to careers strategy between the City Colleges of Chicago and private business to prepare residents for jobs in aviation.
AAR Chairman and CEO David P. Storch joined Mayor Emanuel for the announcement of the “Colleges to Careers” initiative, which will focus on building industry partnerships for careers in aviation, healthcare, logistics, hospitality and information technology. These high-growth sectors are in need of skilled workers to fill open positions today and to build a pipeline of talent for the future.
“This initiative will have long-term benefits for the viability of Chicago’s future workforce,” Storch said. “It also will help to reduce employer costs for education and skills training on the job so that the people we hire are properly trained from Day One.”
The Mayor’s Office highlighted AAR’s recent report “The Mid-skills Gap in Middle America: Building Today’s Workforce” and the company’s need to fill 600 positions requiring a high degree of specialization and FAA certification. The mismatch between available jobs and employee qualifications has delayed hiring at companies poised to participate in the economic and jobs recovery, according to the findings.
Under the partnership, AAR will assist with designing curriculum at Olive-Harvey College for A&P mechanic and avionics careers; provide AAR professionals to help teach curriculum and introduce real-world knowledge of the industry; and offer internships, facility tours and interviews for jobs at its facilities in Indianapolis, Ind., and Wood Dale, Ill. The aerospace mechanics certificate program will be offered at Olive-Harvey starting in the fall of 2012.
“The Colleges to Careers initiative is an excellent opportunity for AAR to introduce exciting careers in aviation to the next-generation workforce,” Storch said. “It is imperative today that private industry work closely with academic institutions to develop industry-specific curriculum that is in line with business needs so we can put people to work faster.”
For more information: AARcorp.com
