NASA must take specific and immediate action to meet a coming workforce crisis head on, and the aerospace industry can help, AIA President and CEO John Douglass said Tuesday.
Testifying before the House Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee, Douglass said the agency must focus on attracting the next generation of NASA workers through direct outreach and cooperation with the industry. Maintaining a dynamic workforce in both NASA and the companies that support the agency will have far-reaching effects, he said.
“NASA must remain aware that a healthy aerospace workforce holds the key to America’s national security and economic competitiveness,” Douglass said.
The hearing was titled “The NASA Workforce: Does NASA Have the Right Strategy and Policies to Retain and Build the Workforce it Will Need?” Both the agency and the industry are facing workforce challenges since existing employees are aging, with many nearing retirement. The number of young people in high school and college choosing aerospace career tracks is insufficient to fill the vacancies.
Addressing a direct question from the committee, Douglass said the aerospace industry has the personnel, facilities, and flexibility to absorb additional work from NASA, especially with the new challenges of the nation’s Vision for Space Exploration, he said.
AIA is also supporting a bill (HR 758) introduced by Rep. Vern Ehlers of Michigan that would establish a federal task force on revitalizing the aerospace workforce as a way to boost NASA and the industry.
Founded in 1919, the Aerospace Industries Association represents the nation’s leading manufacturers and suppliers of civil, military, and business aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, space systems, aircraft engines, materiel, and related components, equipment services, and information technology.
