US Aerospace Workforce / A Perfect Storm is coming

Increasing global demand, constrained capacity, and labor scarcity are changing the geography of high-tech manufacturing.

The American aerospace industry is running out of skilled labor, and companies are running out of time. The venerable tradesmen of the baby-boomer generation are preparing to retire, and few millennials have the interest or technical aptitudes to fill their shoes. Amidst growing global demand for aerospace products and constrained capacity, the labor crunch will gradually shift the geography of manufacturing as companies decide to outsource skilled labor, train new workers, or move their facilities.

The Pressure of Demand and Scarcity of Labor

The aerospace industry’s dilemma has deep roots in demography. The baby-boomers, the foundation of aerospace manufacturing, are retiring in droves with dramatic effect. According to a private survey conducted by Advanced Technology Services (ATS) and ACNielsen, 41 percent of skilled tradesmen will retire by 2017. Correspondingly, an Industry Week survey commissioned by ATS found that 39 percent of aerospace companies report that the labor shortage is having an “extreme” effect on their ability to grow business, while another 24 percent of firms report a “slight” or “moderate” effect.

Simultaneously, commercial aircraft manufactures like Boeing and Airbus expect demand for aircraft and related components to double over the next 15 years. The Federal Aviation Administration predicts that the industry will climb from 731 million passengers in 2011 to 1.2 billion in 2032. However, the consulting firm AlixPartners reasons that the greater complexity of new aircraft models may spike production by as much as 70 percent by 2015.

This perfect storm of increasing global demand, constrained capacity, and labor scarcity cannot be fixed by moving aerospace manufacturing offshore. Production is either too technical or, from a national security standpoint, too risky to perform in China, India, Brazil, and Mexico. A full 74 percent of the Industry Week survey’s respondents believe that foreign manufacturers do not have the technical skills and quality systems in place for aerospace manufacturing.

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via The Perfect Storm in Aerospace Manufacturing | Area Development Online.