NEWS
(OWSS) Manager for Hercules aircraft is a priority for us as we continue to enhance our capabilities to support C-130 operators worldwide.” “We recognize the significant value of a long-term repair contract with Aero Precision,” says Cascade’s Marketing and Communications manager Kim Tamminga. “This agreement will enable faster, more economical, and OEM certified repairs for Canada’s C-130H fleet.” The agreement affords Canada’s DND, via Cascade, the assurance that all CEF Industries manufactured C-130 components will be repaired and certified by the OEM. This repair management model provides efficiency, competitive pricing, and guaranteed quality of work for the end user.
FACING THE SHORTAGE OF MRO SPECIALISTS Vilnius, Lithuania-based FL Technics Training says that for quite a while now the global MRO industry has been generating an extraordinarily high demand for qualified specialists. In turn, the prospects for talent in the field have reached new heights placing aircraft mechanics on the list of top 200 most desired careers and winning them the 10th position on the top 20 High-Paying Blue-Collar Jobs. However, despite the needs and financial resources available, the number of professionals on the market is still insufficient with only as few as 2500-3000 new aircraft mechanics welcomed to the industry each year. Obviously, there’s an unarguable need for firm action, but what kind of action? There are multiple colleges and even
universities offering diverse courses in aircraft technical support. However, due to the lack of practical training in EASA Part 145 organizations, in many cases the graduates of unspecialized training institutions fail to find a suitable position straight after completing their studies. And even once they do find an employer, the MRO provider has to invest additional resources in order to bring the newbies’ practical base to the required standard. All in all, the period of training a new specialist (i.e. until the receipt of a licence) may stretch to 8 years, including the theoretical part, 3-year-long practice and other procedures. The existing preparation according to EASA Part 147 (Private School) may cut the term by up to 5 years, yet the period is still too long to catch up with the pace of the current industry growth. “During the last 4-5 years’ time there
have been more than 2000 new Boeing 737s alone delivered worldwide, not
to mention Airbus, other Boeing family aircraft or other manufacturers’ machines. It is only natural that the actual yearly demand for specialists is currently double the amount of professionals trained at the moment. Moreover, one must take into account the fact that there is not only the increasing need for new aircraft but also the decreasing availability of specialists to deal with, as the current generation of technicians is on the brink of retirement. For example, on average the age of an aircraft technician in Europe at the moment is 40-50 years. Of course, the MRO industry is not sitting around doing nothing. For instance, FL Technics Training is in cooperation with the local higher education institutions providing students with the necessary hands-on practice in hangars whilst still in schools. This allows them to enjoy better employment opportunities upon graduation and pulls their preparation level up to the relevant standard required by potential employers,” shares Kestutis Volungevicius, the Head of Engineering and Training at FL Technics. “However, it is far from enough. There’s an urgent need to take strategic action – for airlines, MROs, the CAA and educational institutions together.“ One of the potential solutions to the problem is to cut
the required students’ training time under the condition that it shall have no effect on the quality of preparation. Otherwise, we may end up having to choose from one of the two equally bad alternatives: a sufficient number of technicians with insufficient competence or simply an
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