march2021 - 40

ATEC INSIGHT

By Crystal Maguire

Crystal Maguire is
the executive director
of the Aviation
Technician Education
Council (ATEC).

Aviation Technician
Education Community
Sets Advocacy
Priorities for 2021
Despite our inability to bring the community together, the council's advocacy
efforts over the past year yielded remarkable results - the crowning achievement coming in the last few days of 2020 with the inclusion of part 147 reform
mandates in the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The new law requires the
FAA to replace long-outdated aviation technical program regulations with a
community-drafted, performance-based regulation that will provide opportunity for widespread innovations in aviation technical education.

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This coming year, the community is setting its sights on initiatives that will ensure
a smooth transition to the new regulatory
framework, take advantage of new opportunities and address additional choke points in
the workforce pipeline. In the coming year
the council will...
* Insist on FAA adherence to part
147 reform mandates. After decades
of waiting on regulators to update the
regulation governing aviation technical programs, a congressional mandate
will overhaul the long-outdated rule and
allow aviation technical programs to better prepare students for the current job
market. The council will engage with
congressional leaders to ensure timely
and accurate implementation of the
interim final regulation by the March
27 deadline, support regulators through
development of proposed guidance
and educate the community through
resources and online events.
* Support swift publication of FAA airman certification standards (ACS).
A decade ago, an FAA-industry working
group came together to develop a better
way to qualify the skill and knowledge
needed from the next generation of aviators. The effort was recently brought to

an abrupt halt when the agency ceased
publishing ACS after reinterpreting its
regulatory responsibilities. Since then,
the backlog of unpublished ACS grows
while industry anxiously awaits revised
standards. The council will encourage
the new administration to get the initiative back on track so that the training
community can implement much needed
reforms to support today's modern aviation system.
* Support a skilled and dynamic
aviation workforce through grant
program funding. The COVID-19
pandemic devastated the aviation
industry - targeted federal support
of workforce programs will be a critical piece of its recovery. The council
encourages Congress to provide sorely
needed resources through the continued
funding of the aviation workforce development grant program, and to explore
additional opportunities to invest in
aviation career pathway development,
including expansion of K-12 programs.
* Oppose threats to private, tax paying educational institutions. ATEC
opposes legislation that limits proprietary aviation technical schools from
serving students and veterans. Bills

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march2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of march2021