The ATEC annual survey is underway. The purpose of the questionnaire is to assess key trends in aviation maintenance education, gather demographics of the entering workforce, support industry recruitment programs and initiatives, and guide future association activities and priorities. 

The survey polls US-based educational institutions with aviation technical programs. Aggregate results will be published in the ATEC Pipeline Report in December, along with the list of participating schools. Specific identifying information regarding programs offered, current enrollment, graduation expectations and dates will also be included in ATEC’s online school directory. 

Earlier today, ATEC sent each aviation program's designated "primary contact" a link to the survey. If your school did not receive an invitation to participate or would like to confirm your school's primary contact, please email atec@atec-amt.org. 

Since data from various sources may be required to complete the survey, respondents are advised to collect information before beginning an electronic submission. To aid those efforts, a PDF version of the questionnaire is available at the link below.

Survey responses are due Nov. 12.

Nominations for appointments to the Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force, to develop initiatives to attract young people to aviation careers, are due October 30. The Women in Aviation Advisory Board nominations must be submitted to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by October 29.

The Youth Task Force is designed to encourage students to pursue aviation career and technical education courses in STEM; aviation manufacturing, engineering and maintenance at community colleges and trade schools. It will also develop pathways for apprenticeships and workforce development programs.

The women’s advisory board will be responsible for developing a comprehensive plan for strategies the FAA can use to encourage women to pursue aviation careers, coordinate efforts by airlines, nonprofits and aviation and engineering associations to facilitate support for women, expand existing scholarship opportunities and enhance training, mentorship, education and outreach programs for women.

Further details on the panels and information required to be submitted on the nominations can be found at the Federal Register at the links above.

The Wall Street Journal’s recent report on the Most Promising Careers rank aviation maintenance technicians 125th among 800 careers. Avionics Technicians were ranked at 458.

Using Labor Department statistics, the WSJ ranking is based on two attributes: annual occupational openings projected until 2028 and median salaries for 2018. Occupations were scored by the highest average ranking among both attributes. Rankings also included airline pilots (#55), commercial pilots (#160), air cargo supervisors (#679), aerospace engineers (#115) and aircraft structures and system assemblers (#493).​

In an effort to enhance the overall quality of FAA Airman Knowledge Testing, the FAA has awarded a new airman knowledge testing contract called the Airman Certificate Testing Service (ACTS). The ACTS contract provides a comprehensive, best practices approach. 

The ACTS vendor supports the FAA in development, assessment, maintenance, and delivery of airman knowledge tests. The vendor also enhances knowledge test items, knowledge tests, and supplementary material with automated state-of-the-art technology and academic expertise.

This is a great resource to inform Mechanics of the pending changes to FAA Knowledge Exams that will be going into effect Jan 13 2020.

In response to a directive in the FAA Reauthorization legislation, the FAA is calling for nominations for participants in its Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force.

The task force is designed to provide independent advice and recommendations to the FAA on attracting high school students to aviation and provide the FAA with information that may be used for tactical and strategic planning purposes.

Members will includes airlines, repair stations, colleges and high schools as well as manufacturers among others. For more information on the nomination package click here.

Designed to encourage aviation and aerospace science to think outside the box, the latest RAISE Challenge was recently announced by the Department of Transportation which set a deadline of November 15 for submissions.

The RAISE Challenge is designed to recognize students from high school to graduate programs with the ability to demonstrate unique and innovative thinking in aerospace science and engineering. This competition includes a high school division and both a graduate and undergraduate university division. DOT wants to encourage students at high schools and universities to think creatively in developing innovative solutions to aviation and aerospace challenges, and to share their innovations with the broader community. 

Details on the Secretary’s Raise Award are available here and include rules, eligibility, judging criteria, entrance information, submission requirements and contact information. ​

One of the ways ATEC establishes its leadership is by giving back to the community, serving on boards of important organizations and participating in legislative and regulatory efforts.
 
The FAA is calling for nominations to a new board to advise it on recruiting more women to aviation. For ATEC, it is an important opportunity to spread the word on the value of the aviation maintenance technician career and advise on education issues surrounding that goal.
 
The new board responds to a call in the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act, Section 612, Supporting Women’s Involvement in the Aviation Field. Its purpose is to advise the agency on how to encourage girls and women to enter the field and its goal is to promote organizations and programs providing education, training, mentorships, outreach and recruitment in the aviation industry.
 
Deadline for nominations is October 29 when FAA must receive the nomination package. Complete details of the opportunities, duties and instructions on the nomination package can be found here.

​Aviation Maintenance Technician schools are facing a critical capacity problem prompting ATEC to ask the FAA for a better framework for incorporating high school partners into their training programs.

AMT schools will have to increase production by 30% to meet the projected demand for certified mechanics over the next 20 years, according to the FAA, which pointed out such enrollments are shrinking, not expanding. ATEC’s 2017 survey showed only 8% of schools have high school partnerships.
 
ATEC called on the agency to make policy changes that would allow schools to deliver AMTS content to enrolled students away from “primary locations,” via “additional fixed locations” provided on the AMTS operations specification. Read more.