Taking Flight Education and Training for Aviation Careers (1997) / Chapter Skim
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Pages 1-12
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From page 1... ...
Although the commercial airlines were largely freed from government economic controls in 1978, federal agencies continue to have important oversight responsibilities for aviation safety, and the public still expects government to pay special attention to how the aviation industry is faring. This study is one of several initiated by Congress in the years since deregulation to examine perceived problems in air transportation and in particular in the scheduled airlines.
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From page 2... ...
Formal policies that once barred minorities and women from many aviation jobs no longer exist, and progress has been made, but more remains to be done to ensure that opportunities are open to all. The challenge of diversifying the aviation workforce is a complex one, not least because severe labor shortages that would give employers strong economic incentives to identify and hire talented people from all races and both sexes have not characterized and may well not in the future characterize the commercial aviation industry.
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From page 3... ...
The concern quickly faded as the industry underwent one of its frequent shifts in economic fortune. Its labor market went from perceived shortage to an oversupply of trained and available pilots and mechanics, who are increasingly called aviation maintenance technicians.
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From page 4... ...
The major air carriers, faced with a reduced supply of military-trained pilots and technicians, will have to meet their future hiring needs by relying to a greater extent than they presently do on civilian sources of supply, as smaller air carriers already do. As a major training ground for pilots and aviation maintenance technicians, the military's aviation-related workforce is not noticeably more diverse than the civilian aviation workforce.
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From page 5... ...
This situation drew attention to the differences between the structured and consistent backgrounds of individuals trained in the military and the diverse and more varied experiences of those trained through civilian aviation pathways. Before the issues surrounding civilian training could be fully explored, a reversal of economic fortune caused new airline hiring to plummet and interest to shift away from strengthening civilian training.
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From page 6... ...
Under this pathway, airlines take carefully selected individuals with no flying experience and put them through intensive pilot training courses designed to meet the airline's specific needs. Ab initio training is popular with foreign airlines; Lufthansa and many other global carriers have ah initio training programs in this country.
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From page 7... ...
The airlines and the aviation industry as a whole ought to become more active and systematic partners in fostering the maturation of collegiate aviation and developing commonly recognized training standards to guide the development of appropriate curricula. Schools and industry together need to build the institutional mechanisms that foster standard-setting and recognize programs meeting the standards.
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From page 8... ...
There must be equal opportunities for minorities and women to develop the basic academic competencies to successfully pursue aviation careers if they choose. And any remaining barriers must be addressed that formally or informally have a disproportionate effect on the ability of minorities and/or women to pursue aviation careers if they have the interest and the basic academic competencies.
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From page 9... ...
These schools offer excellent opportunities for industry in particular to provide assistance to individuals to encourage their persistence in aviation and support for institutions that are demonstrating their ability to attract underrepresented groups into the aviation field. The committee recommends that, to increase the pool of qualified applicants from underrepresented groups for pilot, aviation maintenance technician, and other positions in the aviation industry, airlines and other employers work aggressively to build linkages with the aviation programs at historically black colleges and universities and other schools and colleges with large minority and female enrollments.
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From page 10... ...
The task of improving mathematics and science competencies so that minorities and women can pursue aviation careers if they so choose is bound up in much larger questions of reforming precollege education and of improving the preparation of all students for science, math, engineering, and technology careers. The committee recommends support for efforts to improve the general preparation of elementary and secondary school students in mathematics and science and stresses the continuing need to focus special attention on improving opportunities for and the academic achievement of minorities and women.
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From page 11... ...
The committee recommends continuing efforts, vigorously led by top officials, to root out any remaining vestiges of discriminatory behavior in aviation training institutions and aviation businesses and to provide a favorable climate and truly equal opportunities for all individuals who wish to pursue careers in the aviation industry.
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