ATEC joins the STEM Coalition, meets with federal leaders on aviation workforce issues

On June 13, representatives from ATEC and the STEM Education Coalition met with policy staff from the Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

ATEC is a longstanding member of the coalition’s leadership council and represents aviation employers, vendors, and educational institutions with maintenance technician programs.
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Crystal Maguire, Executive Director of ATEC and Ryan Goertzen, Past ATEC President and Chief Aviation and Academic Officer at Spartan College, took the opportunity to highlight the imminent shortage of aviation technicians in the U.S. workforce.

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The pair also voiced concerns with Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 147, the regulation dictating aviation maintenance education curriculum requirements, which hasn’t been significantly updated since 1962. They highlighted the long-standing issue as one that exacerbates ever-growing workforce shortage concerns.

Several follow-on initiatives are planned to communicate and educate the current administration on matters impacting aviation maintenance education, and to ensure the aviation community is considered in federal initiatives surrounding workforce development.

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