Mobile – Airbus plant will put a dent in unemployment, assuming no Skills Gap

The arrival of Airbus in Mobile will make a measurable impact on the city’s economy, enough to render the city, and even the entire state, better bets for lenders, according to a recent report by Moody’s Investor Service, a rating agency.

While the company did not officially adjust its investment-grade, Aa2 rating for the city, Moody’s called the Airbus development “credit positive” for the Mobile.

Mayor Sam Jones said that, though the city currently has no plans to return to the bond market, the city’s credit rating is “extremely important” as it is a measure of the economic strength of the community as a whole.

The 3,200 temporary construction jobs required to build the company’s assembly plant at the Brookley Aeroplex could drop the city’s unemployment rate by 1.7 percent, according to the Moody’s analyses. The 1,000 permanent positions the plant is expected to create when the plant is fully operational should reduce unemployment by .5 percent, according to the report.

Those figures do not include jobs created by spin-off businesses that could flock to the area to supply parts for the plant…

via Airbus plant will put a dent in unemployment and boost economy, ratings agency says (updated) | al.com.

Skills Gap – There won’t be enough A & P (airframe and propulsion) licensed mechanics for an Airbus Assembly plant when in Mobile

That’s the word from companies that specialize in recruiting and hiring skilled workers for several industries, including the marine and airbus 380 in Vancouver (Photo credit: Cyprien) aviation industries. Bud Collins owns Eagle Marine Services in Irvington.  He’s been placing skilled workers in marine jobs for 17 years, including ship building sites like Newport News, … Continue reading »