Wanted: aerospace engineers

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The airframers' perspective
There has been a differing view among airframers as to whether or not there is a shortage of engineering talent in the industry. However, all agree that they must continue to be proactive in recruiting new engineering talent as well as retaining their experienced technical base.

According to Cessna Aircraft Co., evidence indicates that college enrollment in engineering disciplines is decreasing while the number of job openings for engineers is increasing across the nation. Not only is enrollment decreasing, but the actual number of engineering degrees conferred is also diminishing. The result is fewer degreed engineers in the midst of a growing engineering job market. This market has grown specifically due to the prosperity experienced in the aerospace industry, particularly in the business jet aircraft market. With all the aerospace companies searching for engineers from the same shrinking pool of talent, the job of recruiters has become even more challenging.

Lockheed Martin's assessment of employment in the aerospace industry agrees fairly closely to Cessna's. Lockheed Martin has met more competition in hiring qualified engineers, especially those with information technology skills. Aerospace consolidations and reduced defense funding has created challenges to recruitment. The uncertainty created by stretches and cancellations of government-funded programs further contributes to engineers pursuing other career options. Lockheed Martin believes the industry must seek innovative solutions to this challenge.

However, David Swain, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Technology at the Boeing Co., believes there is not a shortage of engineers in the business. Although he does not see a huge increase in the total number of engineers in aerospace, he believes Boeing should be aggressive in bringing younger talent into the business.

The full-scale JSF mockup provides a "pilot's-eye" view to a college recruit.

According to Swain, Boeing's edge will be its variety of career options—operating in 26 states in the areas of commercial aviation, space, defense, and information technology. "We are changing our hiring strategy, which had tended toward hiring into specific assignments," he said. "We will try to increase our flexibility and let students write their own assignments. This is our number one challenge."

The company will also look at its recruiting activities from a more strategic standpoint. It will recruit company wide as opposed to business by business or site by site. "When we look at Boeing and our needs over the next year or so, we want to hire around 2000 students +/-20% right now," said Swain.

Lockheed Martin is taking a number of approaches to attract talented engineers, including a comprehensive job-posting tool on the company intranet. This offering enables employees to investigate other options and stay with the company, yet broaden their skills. In addition, the company visits key universities and encourages younger people to pursue technical professions.

In the area of retention, the company offers a variety of career development programs. A unique program sponsored by the State of Georgia is designed to retrain engineers to become software developers, which is accomplished through a combination of study and internships. Engineers in the first class of the program will be placed in permanent positions later this year.

In September, Cessna completed a major revamping of its website, www.cessna.com, and introduced a career site in the process, www.cessnajobs.com. The career site features online job listings and resume submittals. The company further highlights career potential, corporate growth, new facilities, new graduate programs, internships, career fairs, and information about the Cessna Flying Club, offers access to single-engine aircraft at low rates, and offers reimbursements for pilot achievements.

However, Cessna has avoided special incentives and packages to attract new engineers in favor of creating a work environment that draws and retains talented people. The company also strives to create a culture in which management and employees work together to create a productive work environment conducive to learning and ingenuity. In addition, it has created an Engineering Development Program (EDP) specifically tailored for recent college graduates. The EDP provides new graduates with an overview of the various disciplines in product engineering, accelerates training, and gives new engineers an opportunity to work in several different disciplines. Since its implementation, over 300 new engineers have participated in the program.

All three airframers agreed that the aerospace industry has a lot to offer to those interested in the field of study. "Especially if you have a love of aircraft," added Blair Marks, Marietta Engineering Site Integrator at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. "It does not get much better than watching the first flight of an air vehicle that you've worked on since the initial conceptual phase."

Each airframer has leveraged the web in its recruitment activities.

Looking at the historical impact of the aerospace industry, Swain said, "I can't imagine a career that has had much more of an impact on mankind and society in the 20th century than the aerospace profession. We have defended the country, explored space, connected people with safe and economical aviation from around the world. There is absolutely no reason to believe aerospace will not impact work in the 21st century. It is up to the young engineers to really take a leadership role in making sure that impact happens."

Swain also believes there are plenty of challenges ahead for younger engineers. "We have to figure out how to get people in and out of airports more effectively. I think instead of being an airplane business, it's going to be an aviation business that focuses on the overall issues."

The next-generation engineer, according to Swain, will have a much better sense of information technology and how to use it effectively. "We will also need some engineers that are able to work across from structures to avionics systems to flight control systems and really understand how to integrate and optimize those technologies," he said. "We will still need some engineers that are specialists, but I envision engineers that will be optimizing across disciplines."

Swain also thinks that the education and training universities offer engineers is 90% adequate to Boeing's needs. "We are encouraging universities to give students hands-on, cross-functional experiences and many are responding," he said. "We have projects where a student in electrical (engineering) is working with students in aeronautics, structures, and propulsion to develop and build model airplanes or cars." However, Swain did point out that universities have the dilemma of what courses to drop and what ones to add to an already packed curriculum.

To foster interest in the aerospace profession and impact the development of future engineers, Lockheed Martin attempts to "plant the seeds" of technical education earlier and earlier. It partners with professional organizations, educators, and government to make an outreach encouraging young children to seek technical careers. The company also sends teams of engineers to universities to teach "real-life" aircraft design case studies. This is typically done at the freshman and sophomore levels and provides students with an opportunity to learn about the problem-solving approaches taken in the industry. It also provides an opportunity to develop relationships with these students before they enter the formal recruiting process.

Lockheed Martin, along with Boeing and Cessna, believes in taking a proactive approach to recruiting and attracting new talent to the aerospace industry. The company thinks that there must be intellectually challenging projects in order to attract new talent as well as retain it. This will require establishing stronger relationships with the general public, universities, and the government to encourage a sustained approach to research and development funding. Without challenging projects and a viable technical career path, the aerospace industry will not attract the best and brightest talent.

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