Carriers, MROs recruiting students into aviation maintenance

Carriers and MROs are recruiting high school and middle school students in an effort to increase awareness of aviation maintenance career opportunities and shore up the industry’s workforce. FedEx is partnering with aviation trade schools to grow its apprentice program and reaching out to young students to introduce them to aviation maintenance, Vice President of Aircraft Maintenance Melvyn Stokes said at MRO Americas in Atlanta on April 9. [caption id="attachment_57150327" align="aligncenter" width="849"] A panel on juniority in MRO at MRO Americas 2025. (Photo/Cargo Facts)[/caption] “It’s got to start earlier,” Stokes said. “It’s really about introducing kids to this field. It’s a great field, but a lot of people still don’t know about aviation,” he said during a panel discussion on improving base maintenance throughput. The express company attends career day activities and sets up site visits at its facilities for students to learn more about line maintenance operations. American Airlines Vice President of Base Maintenance Greg Emerson agreed with Stokes. “Most students don’t even know about our portion of the industry,” Emerson said in the discussion. “They think about pilots and flight attendants, and they don't think about the mechanic and engineering side of it.” Rebranding, recruiting with TikTok Across the pond, European carriers such as Air France-KLM realized recently it had to change its approach to pull in the younger generation, Perwien Meriwani, senior vice president of operations and airframe at Air France Industries KLM Engineering and Maintenance, said during the panel. The carrier previously had no issues attracting talent. “We had to rebrand and relearn how to recruit people,” Meriwani said. “We went through an enormous program within engineering and maintenance to change our employer branding, how we approach the market, and how we approach our potential employees. For example, our TikTok and Instagram posts need to apply the ten-second rule because after ten seconds, they lose their span of attention.” Maintenance ‘boot camp’ Although the experience level of up to 60% of aircraft mechanics within the United States averages five years or fewer, one in three technicians will retire in the next ten years, Ismail Mokabel, president and chief operating officer of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Regional Jet Aviation Group (MHIRJ), said during a panel at the event on April 8. MHIRJ, which supports the CRJ passenger and freighter aircraft types, acquired the CRJ series program from Bombardier on June 1, 2020. To get new technicians up to speed with training and certifications, MHIRJ launched the MHIRJ Academy, Mokabel said. “We provide a curriculum that can get the technicians certified,” he said. “You can come out of Home Depot the next day and join us, and complete the rigorous program within about twelve weeks or so, and get your certification that works in concert with the FAA.” Air France-KLM also has schools at its maintenance facilities to accelerate the training of new mechanics who have not been certified to work on aircraft, Meriwani said. “So, they come from the school and go into this boot camp as a group with two or three trainers, and they teach them all the basic stuff while giving them hands-on experience working on the aircraft,” she said. Air France-KLM has also set up a mock engine to train new technicians under the supervision of experienced personnel on the shop floor while keeping the trainees clear of live repairs on engines that will return to fleet service, Meriwani said. Creating a pipeline Meanwhile, Pratt & Whitney takes a different approach. It partners with aviation trade schools to integrate its requirements into the curriculum of each program to advance the training of potential candidates, Hamish Guthrie, vice president of aftermarket operations in North America, said during the April 8 panel. “They’re developing the right sort of skills that we’re looking for when they’re going to come out into the workforce,” Guthrie said. “So, I really think that is a key part of making sure we’ve got a good pipeline.” Register now for Cargo Facts EMEA, an essential regional event for industry stakeholders, on May 6-8 at the Shangri-La Bosphorus in Turkey.

Carriers, MROs recruiting students into aviation maintenance

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