Aerospace Industries Association
AIA News 2006
Critical Aerospace Workforce Bill Clears Congress
December 07, 2006
Arlington, Va. - Congress took a vital step toward ensuring the long-term stability of the aerospace industry workforce, approving a bill that will confront an ominous shortage of skilled engineers and other workers, AIA President and CEO John Douglass said. The Senate approved the bill, HR 758, Wednesday. It creates a federal Interagency Aerospace Revitalization Task Force, which will come up with strategies to bolster the workforce and ensure this important cog in the U.S. economy remains strong, Douglass said. "It's hard to overstate how important this bill is to the aerospace industry and our nation's security and economic health," Douglass said. The Senate approved the bill, first introduced by Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-Mich.), by unanimous consent, passing the identical version that cleared the House in September of last year. The bill directs 11 federal agencies, led by the Labor Department, to form a task force to develop strategies to expand public and private aerospace job training programs. The bill specifically requires the task force to report to Congress each year on the status of federal policies and partnerships designed to advance training programs in the areas of science, engineering, technology, mathematics, and skilled vocational trades. Passage was a goal in AIA's ongoing efforts to address the shortfall in technical talent and secure the aerospace and defense industrial base. Douglass said the bill's approval came as the result of a close collaboration among Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) and Ranking Minority Member Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) as well as panel members Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.). The bill addresses a significant shortage of younger, technically skilled professionals in the aerospace industry. The average age of the American aerospace manufacturing employee now exceeds 50, and in 2008, 27 percent of aerospace workers will become eligible for retirement. Dealing with the workforce challenges is one of AIA's top priorities as it is a vital component to the long-term health of the defense industrial base.