AMT_June-July_2021 - 40

A T EC I N S I G H T
New Initiative Will Build
Maintenance Career Pipelines
Choose
Aerospace is
facilitating
a curriculum
for highschoolers
to
encourage
them to work
in aviation
cerning trend. While demand for technical personnel
is on the rise, enrollment at part 147 aviation maintenance
technician schools (AMTS) in the U.S. is
nearly stagnant. Enrollment grew by only 2 percent
in 2019 - a five-year high - with two out of every
five airframe and powerplant (A&P) program seats
remaining empty. Assuming flat enrollment growth,
ATEC estimates that new mechanic output will need
to increase nearly 40 percent to meet the projected
20-year demand.
ATEC survey data suggests that high school AMTS
partnerships are one of the most lucrative channels for
student recruitment, but they are sorely underutilized
nationally. FAA regulations limiting an A&P school's
ability to bring content to the high school is the biggest
barrier to dual enrollment programs, the other
being the cost associated with equipment, teachers
and curriculum development.
A coalition of stakeholders, through Choose
By Crystal Maguire
Crystal Maguire is
the executive director
of the Aviation
Technician Education
Council (ATEC).
Aerospace, is facing the challenge head on. A host of
partners and advisors, including representatives from
the FAA, airlines, labor, repair stations, community
colleges and universities, are coming together to build
curriculum that can be easily adopted in a high school
setting.
The Choose Aerospace curriculum will align
with emerging FAA Mechanic Airman Certification
Standards to cover the general knowledge, risk management
and skill required for mechanic certification.
It will facilitate a hybrid approach, combining traditional
delivery methods - classroom, hard copy textbook
and in-person labs - with e-learning methods,
such as video lecture, e-book, virtual and augmented
reality simulations and exercises, using a nationally
deployable e-learning platform. The " out of the box "
40 JUNE/JULY 2021
In February 2020, the Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC) founded
Choose Aerospace, a non-profit organization with a mission of promoting aviation
technical careers. The charity's board of directors - including education,
MRO, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), labor and airline representatives
- set out to identify and implement creative solutions to meet the growing
need for aviation technical personnel. Its first and lofty goal is to deploy aviation
maintenance technical curriculum in high schools across the U.S.
The initiative was born out of a growing and conpackage
will include all the teaching content a school
needs to get a technical program off the ground, with
very little equipment required.
ATEC intends to engage its network of FAAcertificated
aviation maintenance schools so that high
school students that take the curriculum will have the
opportunity to transfer credit earned to postsecondary
schools across the U.S. The organization will also work
with employers to create and communicate direct-toemployment
opportunities for students that choose
to pursue careers as a non-certificated technician, or
certification through experience.
Through engagement with school districts, urban
advocacy organizations, vocational training programs
and trade associations representing underrepresented
talent, the team will also focus on deploying curriculum
in underserved communities to increase awareness
and diversify the aviation maintenance workforce
population.
Coalition leaders are also seeking regulatory relief
from FAA policies that limit the opportunity for individuals
to take the mechanic general written test independent
of enrollment at an aviation maintenance
technical school (AMTS) or relevant employment history.
The goal is to give would-be aviation mechanics
the opportunity to take the general written test earlier
in their training cycle - mirroring the opportunities
available to pilot candidates that finish the ground
training - and transform these high school programs
into true career pathways.
Choose Aerospace is currently soliciting high
schools that would like to participate in its pilot test
during the 2021-2022 academic year. The goal is for the
content to be widely available for adoption in the fall
of 2022. For more information visit chooseaerospace.
org/curriculum.
AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY
AMT_June-July_2021

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