Avionics News December 2015 - 12

In this monthly column, Ric Peri of the AEA's Washington, D.C., office, informs members of the latest regulatory updates.

B Y

R I C

P E R I
A EA V I C E P R ES I D E N T O F G OV E R N M E N T & I N D U ST RY A F FA I RS

"People are definitely a company's greatest asset. It doesn't make any difference whether the
product is cars or cosmetics. A company is only as good as the people it keeps."
Mary Kay Ash,

founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc.

The business of labor
A
s I write this month's column, I have just returned
from the AEA South Pacific Regional Meeting
in Queenstown, New Zealand. Following an
informative meeting with the New Zealand Civil Aviation
Authority and briefing on the New Southern Skies
initiative, and particularly ADS-B, the one underlying
question was, "Does the avionics industry have the
necessary resources to satisfy the pending demand?" I'm
really tired of this question. Of course we do, and if we
don't, we will find the resources!
One fundamental of business is to satisfy the customer
and the customer's needs. Of course, this doesn't mean
the avionics industry will be ready, willing and able to
satisfy the procrastinators. But for those with reasonable
expectations in a reasonable timeline, of course the
industry will step up to meet the demand. Silly question.
But, how will we meet the demand for the various
avionics mandates around the world, and specifically,
how will we meet the demand for qualified technicians
into the future?
Like many of you, I participate on the advisory
board of an aviation trade school. In addition, I get the
opportunity to visit a number of aviation schools during
the year. One constant, regardless of where the school
is located, is that they have a robust recruiting effort.
12

avionics news

december

2015

Likely, anyone with the idea of becoming an aviator has
been contacted by one of these schools for recruitment.
During the past year, the school I participate in had
a meeting to discuss placement because there was a
concern that more than 50 percent of the students are
accepting positions outside of aviation, an interesting
dynamic of aviation trade schools. Unfortunately, they
(the nonaviation business world) have discovered just
how valuable an aviation technician is. The 50 percent
placement is mostly for the A&P graduates; I suspect the
placement in aviation for avionics technicians is actually
much higher, although I do not have any data to support
that assumption.
Nonetheless, the schools are recruiting to the best
of their ability. The other source of technicians, the
military, is producing significantly fewer technicians
than it was a few decades ago. So the bottom line is,
if we need technicians with specific skills, we need to
consider "growing" them in-house; we need to consider
apprenticeship programs. The Aircraft Electronics
Association membership in Europe has been doing this
for a generation. But for some reason, the concept of
formal apprenticeship in the U.S. seems foreign.
Interestingly, the concept of the repair station and
the repairman are perfectly aligned for this concept.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News December 2015