Aviation Workforce Development Practices (2010)

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5In virtually all professional industries there is a tremendous need for talented individuals to contribute to an organization’s mission. Organizations within the civil aviation industry are no different. One of the great challenges in developing the aviation industry workforce is that the wider professional industry is not generally aware of the multitude of professional oppor- tunities found in aviation. Little research quantifying the numbers and varieties of jobs within aviation has been pub- lished, and even the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has focused the majority of its aviation workforce statistics on jobs within the commercial air carrier industry, with an emphasis on aircraft crew (pilots and flight attendants), aircraft main- tenance, and customer service (such as ticketing agents and gate agents) positions (3). Outside of commercial air carriers, the aviation industry includes a wide variety of professions within general avia- tion, air traffic management, airport operations and manage- ment, and aviation system planning and engineering. This synthesis focuses on those segments of the industry that sup- port both commercial air carriers and general aviation, with particular emphasis on the segment of the industry that pro- vides the infrastructure and services to support both com- mercial service and general aviation operations. These ser- vices are most often performed by airports and the ground services companies on, and off, airport property. According to the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), a member-driven professional services organization representing the aviation industry, more than 2,000 member companies directly serve the aviation industry by providing fuel, on-demand charter, aircraft rental, tie-down and storage, flight training, maintenance, parts sales, baggage handling, line service, and business functions to aviation users (4). Many of the NATA member companies are small businesses using relatively small staffs to provide a wide variety of technical and administrative functions. According to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), a member-driven professional services organiza- tion representing corporate and business aviation, more than 8,000 companies employ professionals in aviation-related jobs (5). Many of these companies do not consider business aviation as their core business focus, but have corporate flight departments to aid in the transportation of their workforce. REGIONAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AVIATION DEPARTMENTS The FAA itself has a workforce of more than 48,000 profes- sionals located throughout the United States dedicated to the safe operation of the national aviation system. Aside from the thousands of air traffic controllers, the FAA employs the spectrum of professional needs, from inspectors to analysts, in areas ranging from operational safety to capital planning (6). With several geographic regions and operating entities, the FAA is a large government organization with particular work- force development challenges. Although a comprehensive assessment of the FAA’s workforce development needs is beyond the scope of this synthesis, it can be noted that many of these needs, as well as the opportunities to meet those chal- lenges, are in many ways similar to those of airports and other areas of the industry. There is concern within the FAA that the organization will be challenged to find sufficient workforce talent to meet its needs over the next 2 to 10 years. Increasing workloads on the current workforce are being perceived as causing stress and burnout across the workforce. In addition to the FAA, which employs a federal-level workforce, each of the 50 U.S. states employs aviation experts, often within their state departments of aviation. According to The National Association of State Aviation Officials, approx- imately 2,700 full-time professionals work for state avia- tion departments. Individual state aviation departments are often relatively small and as such also have relatively lim- ited resources to dedicate to formal workforce development programs. As with most other industries the FAA and state aviation departments in particular foresee challenges associated with an aging workforce; ranging from adapting to new technologies and operational paradigms to increased rates of retirement and attrition. Because of limited budgets and an already heavy workload within the workforce, relatively few resources are currently devoted to workforce training and development. AIRPORTS The airports element of the civil aviation industry alone accounts for more than 5,000 public-use facilities and nearly 15,000 additional privately owned airfields. Nearly 500 of CHAPTER TWO AVIATION INDUSTRY WORKFORCE

these airfields accommodate commercial air carrier service, whereas more than 4,000 public-use facilities routinely accom- modate business and corporate aviation. The FAA’s National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) recognizes more than 3,000 civil-use airports in the United States as impor- tant components of the nation’s aviation and transportation systems (7 ). A 2004 study by Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (8) estimated that more than one million people were employed at commercial service airports alone, with nearly 50,000 professionals directly employed by airport spon- sors. Airports throughout the United States are considered vital elements of local, regional, and national economies. A talented workforce is continuously needed for these important facilities to thrive. Airports in the United States operate under a wide variety of public and private agencies. Many smaller municipal air- ports are managed by a small staff often led by a manager who is also responsible for other municipal functions. Under these circumstances, individuals on staff are required to perform a wide variety of tasks, often with little specialized training in any particular task. Smaller airports are also often highly financially constrained, which limits their ability to formalize any workforce development programs. These smaller airports tend to attract professionals relatively new to the industry and experience relatively high levels of employee attrition as pro- fessionals move to larger airports where positions of increas- ing responsibility and specialized functions are often found. These larger airports, which often operate as large bureau- cracies under a local governmental agency or public author- ity, tend to require professionals who have specialized exper- tise in particular airport management functions. Such airports face the challenge of providing professional training to a larger number of employees on a variety of topics. In addition, larger airports confront the challenges of coordinating among orga- nizational departments, particularly when it comes to institu- tional-level workforce development. As illustrated in Figure 1, professional positions at the nation’s airports vary considerably, from entry-level wage 6 workers to high-level management. Within this wide variety of jobs, special knowledge of aviation and airport operations is needed for successful and safe job performance. The most fundamental of airport jobs are similar to those jobs found in any private or public agency, and include such jobs as janitorial services, operation of parking toll booths, concession staff (including servers, cooks, and bus staff), and groundskeepers, and frequently have the most basic of requirements, such as the ability to effectively communicate in English and have the proper credentials for employment in the United States. Operations jobs that have increasing responsibilities and are increasingly sensitive to the safe operation of the airport in turn have increasing requirements. The following jobs often require a high school degree and a driver’s license, as well as some spe- cialized skill, often learned at the beginning of employment: • Landside transportation drivers (e.g., shuttle bus drivers), • Airside line service staff (fueling, baggage handling, marshalling of aircraft, etc.), • Clerical staff, • Facilities maintenance staff, and • Customer service representative. Other operational jobs require industry certification in spec- ified areas. These certifications are often earned by attending training courses and completing one or more examinations. Such jobs include: • Air rescue and firefighting, • Public safety, and • Security. These entry-level jobs typically require less than 1 year of work experience and are considered to be the first jobs that new members of the workforce would be employed without prior work experience. Jobs that have basic supervisory responsibilities or involve some form of technical analysis tend to require an undergrad- FIGURE 1 The airport industry is comprised of a wide variety of professional jobs.

7uate degree in a specific area and often require 1 to 3 years experience. Such jobs include positions in: • Airside or landside operations management, • Planning and engineering, and • Business administration (marketing, finance, business development). Middle- and upper-level management jobs at airports involve not only experience and skill in the operation of the airport, but also increasing experience in the management of the organization itself. Requirements for such positions often include at least 5 years of operational experience, with increas- ing team management responsibilities. Often, either a master’s degree or professional certification is highly recommended. In summary, for entry-level jobs, required skills focus more on technical knowledge, both aviation and non-aviation-based. Such skills include a knowledge of certain aviation regula- tions, nomenclature, and standard operating procedures; famil- iarization with certain machinery and tools, in some cases technical writing skills; and familiarization with certain com- mon computer software programs (word processing, spread- sheets, presentation software, database development software, website development, etc.). As with most professions, fundamental attributes, such as a good work ethic, good written and oral communication skills, and the ability to work within small teams, are also important for entry-level positions. For management- and executive-level jobs, required skills focus more on administrative experience including project management, personnel management, financial management and budgeting, and interacting with elected officials, the media, and the general public. A great challenge for organizations within the aviation industry is to be able to develop the abilities of their entry- level employees to the point where they are ready for upper- level management positions. Airports tend to hire their entry-level workforce in a highly untargeted manner, primarily relying on open position announcements placed in publications ranging from trade mag- azines, to industry websites, to local newspapers and munici- pal job boards. This is often because most airports must fol- low hiring policies prescribed by the municipalities, counties, authorities, or other public agencies under which they operate. These policies include the requirement of public position post- ings, but often offering preference to employees already within the municipal system and/or military veterans. An additional challenge is that technical skills and knowl- edge for much of the industry’s entry-level positions are in many instances unique to the industry; therefore, finding professionals with current expertise in these skills can be difficult. As a result, airports must allocate significant resources to technical skills training for their entry-level staff. Further- more, budget constraints often limit the resources available for this training. When asked about their most common workforce devel- opment challenges, airports participating in this study noted that the entry-level workforce is typically hired with little aviation knowledge or experience. On-the-job training and other succession planning activities are often limited at public- sector organizations such as airports, because most positions cannot be filled until the incumbent, with his/her associated experience, leaves. It is evident that within the airport and ground services seg- ment of the industry’s workforce development issues are con- centrated on the need for a more targeted recruiting and hiring strategy, and a need for a more strategic process of grooming their workforce for management and leadership positions. AVIATION PLANNING, ENGINEERING, AND CONSULTING FIRMS A large number of private firms and public organizations that focus on the planning, engineering, construction, and finan- cial management of the nation’s aviation system support the aviation industry. A significant segment of this industry is comprised of private engineering and consulting firms, ranging from very large multi-national engineering firms to very small businesses or even “one-person shops.” Regard- less of their size, these firms play a vital role in helping to strategically plan, build, and manage the aviation industry. The other large segment of this industry is found in public entities, ranging from local municipal planning departments to offices within the FAA. Similar to airports, aviation planning and strategic manage- ment organizations require a number of specific technical skills of their workforce, including the ability for management to suc- cessfully manage projects, budgets, and staff. As opposed to airports and ground service providers, however, these organi- zations require a workforce that is more analytical in nature. The ability to construct, evaluate, analyze, and find solutions to given issues is the core requirement of the aviation planner. In addition, the art of forecasting future demand and planning a piece of infrastructure, or an entire aviation system, is a skills requirement that requires constant development and growth. The Airport Consultant’s Council is a member-driven orga- nization representing those firms that focus on aviation and airport management consulting. Nearly 200 such firms are active members of this organization. Council members per- form a variety of services to airport management and other aviation industries including those listed in Figure 2. Each of the services listed in Figure 2 require particular skills. For example, financial planning and analysis requires a

8Number of Firms Reporting to Provide Service Services offered by Airport Consulting Firms (as reported by member firms of the Airport Consultants Council) Economic Impact Analysis Information Technology/System Integration Interior Design Organizational Analysis/Strategic Planning Survey Mapping/GIS Baggage Systems Financial Analysis Land Acquisition/Relocation/Easements Pavement Management and Evaluation System Planning Heliports People Movers/Rail/Mass Transit Aviation Demand Forecasting NAVAIDS Electrical Lighting/Emergency Power Systems Expert Witness Architecture Drainage/Stormwater Management Site Inspections/Testing Environmental Plans: EA/EIS/Part 150 Roadways/Parking Plans & Design Ramp Layout Parking – Vehicles Scheduling Phasing Pavement-Airside/Landside Design Cargo Hangar/Ancillary Facilities Security Cost Estimation Construction Management Design-Build Program Management Cost/Benefit Analysis Terminal Facilities Airport Layout & Master Planning Engineering Planning 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 FIGURE 2 Common services provided by airport and aviation consulting firms. fundamental knowledge of finance and accounting, whereas simulation modeling requires a working knowledge of both theoretical simulation analysis and particular computer sim- ulation modeling software packages. However, the results of the research revealed that common skills are equally if not more important to successfully performing such services. These skills range from communication and presentation skills to project management experience. Figure 3 illustrates the relative importance of these skills. As noted in the fig- ure, oral communication and presentation skills are particu- larly important for both entry-level and management posi- tions, whereas project management skills are intuitively more important for upper management than for entry-level positions. As shown, specific technical skills are viewed as significantly more important for entry-level workers than for management.

9Such results reveal the need for a properly educated and trained entry-level workforce in skills particular to their job activities, whereas management is required to be developed as competent in general administrative skills such as team working and project management. Other traits important to entry-level positions noted by queried firms included strong analytical and math skills, and general computer skills, as well as qualitative traits such as self- motivation, organizational skills, and a general passion for the work. Additional traits important to management-level posi- tions included client-relationship skills, tact and diplomacy, and the knowledge of the proposal, contract, and procurement processes. As with airports, planning, engineering, and consulting firms concentrate their efforts on the day-to-day operations of their business, and primarily rely on external programs to develop their existing workforce. The one exception, how- ever, is the emphasis on on-the-job training, where entry-level employees are mentored by senior personnel to prepare them for upcoming levels of responsibility within the company. Such a practice is typical of private-sector firms that have strategic visions for the future of their companies, and less prevalent in public-sector organizations such as airports. As with airports, consulting firms do send their workforce to industry conferences and workshops to gain current knowl- edge of industry trends and issues, and invest in industry training and certification programs to allow the workforce to develop particular skills or earn particular accreditations. Private-sector firms also tend to provide a certain level of resources to employees to earn higher education degrees. With the proliferation of on-line degree programs from many accredited universities, the ability for an employee to take courses and earn degrees has become increasingly feasible. FIGURE 3 Ranked importance of particular workforce skills.