In attempts to avoid the looming shortage of pilots and aviation maintenance technicians, Purdue University will hold a three-day symposium in April 2022.
The Purdue University National Aviation Symposium – Emerging Critical Shortages of Pilots and Maintenance Technicians, slated for April 6-8, 2022, is designed to “unite the aviation community – including airlines, manufacturers, industry associations, labor unions, government agencies, and academic institutions – to identify and mitigate challenges to creating a sufficient pool of qualified pilots and technicians,” according to university officials.
Aging and retiring pilots, combined with fewer numbers of pilots and technicians entering the workforce, have created a potentially crippling shortage of workers, officials noted.
One report by consulting firm Oliver Wyman predicts that the worldwide aviation industry could need as many as 50,000 more pilots than are available by 2025.
According to the Aviation Technician Education Council, some progress has been made to increase the availability of aviation maintenance technicians, but technicians are still retiring faster than they can be replaced.
This shortage of human capital has the potential to create a human resource crisis in the aviation industry, say Purdue officials, adding the university’s “aviation experts intend to change that.”
Headlining the symposium will be FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson. Before being appointed to the FAA’s top post, Dickson spent nearly three decades at Delta Air Lines, retiring as the senior vice president of flight operations.
The symposium has three objectives:
- Reviewing the baseline projected levels of demand and supply of pilots and maintenance technicians.
- Identifying challenges and roadblocks that impede the creation of candidate pools.
- Proposing a unified position and voice on policy changes and actions required for industry, government and academia.
“As air travel returns to pre-pandemic levels, the shortage of qualified pilots and maintenance technicians is only going to get worse unless we do something about it,” said Thomas Frooninckx, head of the School of Aviation and Transportation Technology at Purdue University. “By combining our expertise and resources across all facets of the aviation industry, we hope to identify and act upon the best ways to attract, train and retain a reliable, robust pipeline of aviation professionals.”
To participate in the symposium, request more information online at Polytechnic.Purdue.edu/National-Aviation-Symposium.