Grey matter: responding to an aging AME population

Avatar for Skies MagazineBy Skies Magazine | September 3, 2013

Estimated reading time 6 minutes, 8 seconds.

A hot topic with aircraft maintainers and federal authorities these days is the unique challenge of keeping aging aircraft aloft. However, the “age issue” is also emerging as a major factor pertaining to the folks who fix those aircraft. Walk into most aircraft maintenance hangars, and you will likely discover that a large proportion of personnel are sporting grey and thinning hair. 
This “touch of grey” phenomenon is not entirely without merit. Just as the flying public lets out a silent sigh of relief as they witness their uniformed captain step onto the aircraft with sufficiently gray temples, most people trust age and experience when their safety is at stake. Despite being somewhat less glamorous, this also holds true for the pilots’ number one partner in safe aviation – the aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) who maintain these complex flying machines.
Currently, Transport Canada’s database lists 13,332 AMEs. Statistics Canada’s most recent study of the industry (2006) shows the number of aircraft mechanics and inspectors at 15,600. (The disparity in numbers is likely due to job descriptions, and technicians in the workforce without Transport Canada licence status.)
The revealing statistic concerning these 15,600 skilled workers relates to their age. Two-thirds of our aircraft maintainers, approximately 10,900, are between 35 and 74 – and the survey, being from 2006, means that the lowest age is now actually 42. Add to these statistics the reality of growth in aviation, estimated at a conservative seven per cent (2008-2018), and we start to see potential problems. This scenario is perhaps not of crises proportions, but certainly worthy of serious attention. Will we in fact have enough AMEs in 2020 and beyond to support our growing aviation needs?
One of the ongoing discussions at our monthly AME association meetings concerns young people’s lack of interest in entering our trade. This appears to be a common scenario across all technical trades, so we are not alone. However, after having taught aircraft maintenance for 22 years at Centennial College in Toronto, I have witnessed firsthand some of the challenges that have plagued the nearly 3,000 graduates that passed through my classroom door. All of the Transport Canada accredited colleges do a fine job recruiting and training potential new candidates for AME licences. The tricky part seems to be the transition from new apprentice to qualified aircraft maintenance engineer.
Not surprisingly, the first hurdle for these maintenance fledglings is low wages. Add to that a very real expectation of serious responsibility, along with daunting federal exams and lengthy logbook requirements, and their starry eyed vision of a career in aviation quickly fades.
I recently ran into two ex-graduates of mine in a coffee shop. It is always a pleasure when these chance encounters happen and the discussion drifts to their current employment. In this case, one was teaching computer software and the other was working as an auto mechanic. Despite a true love of aviation, both of these individuals had to survive, so a career in aircraft maintenance was abandoned. This scenario is far too common. Some may say that their drive and determination was insufficient to make it happen, and in some cases that reality rings true. Still, we need to save as many as possible.
Harold “Rex” Terpening definitely had that drive and determination. An early air engineer and author of the book Bent Props and Blow Pots, Terpening shovelled coal 12 hours a day on a steam-wheeler ship out of Fort McMurray, Alta.,  in the summer of 1933. His goal was to save enough money so that he could work for “free” to finish his air engineer apprenticeship. His adventures in the North are legendary and his career long and rewarding. Now a figurehead in many aviation halls of fame, he perhaps epitomizes the right stuff required to pursue the aircraft maintenance dream. Determination also seems to have affected his longevity. Happily, on July 23, 2013, Rex celebrated his 100th birthday.
Rex did what was necessary to achieve his goal, and some of that spirit must be inherent in all apprentice AMEs. However, that is only a small part of the equation for a healthy aircraft maintenance future. We as an industry must also do what is right to support our next generation. Perhaps it is time for government sponsorship to help “top up” struggling apprenticeship wages, rewarding companies for investing in new blood. AME associations across Canada already do great work by providing student bursaries and promoting our profession at career fairs and trade shows, but we need to do more. Transport Canada could work harder to streamline the apprentice logbook procedures to relieve some of the frustrations in obtaining the elusive licence and its resultant higher wages.
We all need to pull together to ensure our future remains aloft, not grounded by lack of vision and insufficient qualified technicians. AMEs and the greater aviation community must take up the challenge to actively promote and mentor our youth. The future of safe aviation in Canada may well depend on it.
Sam Longo is the vice president of the AME Association of Ontario.               

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