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On-Campus Hiring Still a Focus of Aerospace
While many industries underwent layoffs and
downsizing in 2000 and early 2001, the trend did not hit home in
aerospace and aviation until mid-year. That is when the slowing
economy resulted in diminished business travel, forcing airlines
to adjust their hiring plans.
Even prior to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
on the U.S., the sagging economy was eroding airline profits. Since
that tragic day, Midway Airlines has shut down, other U.S. carriers
slashed flight schedules by approximately 20%, and airlines worldwide
announced major layoffs. U.S. industry leaders anticipate up to
100,000 jobs could be lost following the terrorist attacks.
The long-term response to terrorism is expected
to result in increased defense spending. So even though the airlines
will be hard-pressed to operate in the new, more challenging environment,
military contractors may actually see an upturn in their business
as the U.S. begins its long war against terrorism. And despite its
impact on the aerospace industry, companies are expected to continue
to try to safeguard their engineering talent, not wanting to risk
repeating the mistakes of the early 1990s, when campus hiring nearly
stopped and the drain on aerospace brainpower began.
One major, near-term military contract to
be awarded by year-end is for the Joint Strike Fighter. The JSF
program will create about 4,500 new engineering jobs for the winning
team--both within the program itself and to "backfill" positions
on other programs as engineers within participating companies are
reassigned.
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| Airline cutbacks will affect aircraft builders,
but companies such as Fairchild Dornier need to retain engineers
to keep projects such as the 728JET moving forward. |
Although many aerospace companies continue
to streamline manufacturing processes to drive down costs, resulting
in the loss of some administrative and production jobs, most companies
are closely guarding their engineering talent. The net result is
that aerospace companies are expected to continue to seek new engineers,
including recent college graduates.
In total, aerospace companies were planning
to hire well in excess of 5,000 new college graduates in 2001-2002.
In spring 2001, slightly more than 1,700 students
graduated from U.S. schools with aerospace engineering degrees.
And although aerospace companies will be hiring people from other
fields to fill the need for engineers, there still are more aerospace
engineering jobs than there are graduates to fill the industry’s
needs.
College Recruiting Is Continuous
Continuous college recruiting, regardless
of a slowing economy or business decline, is common among consumer
products companies, but less so for many engineering-dominated industries,
according to Tracey Staley, corporate director of staffing services
for Lockheed Martin.
"It is important in an advanced-technology
world like ours to continuously replenish our workforce," said Susan
Dong, vice president of human resources for BAE Systems North America.
"Our workforce is aging, and we must make sure we have fresh ideas
and talent available."
James F. Foley, manager of undergraduate recruiting
at United Technologies Corp., said his job is to bring in the recently
educated engineering talent "so they can integrate into the rest
of our experience."
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| Cutting-edge projects help attract engineers
to aerospace. Denise Kato, an engineer with Lockheed Martin
Space Systems, is working on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. |
Bell Helicopter Textron faces an increasing number
of retirements, and the helicopter manufacturer is heading back to
college campuses to replace experienced workers.
"Our average age is shifting every year," said
P.D. Shabay, Bell’s executive vice president for administration
and human resources. "Over the past six months, we have had the
first breathing room we have had in two years as far as having a
bigger pool of candidates to choose from."
Situated in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, Bell
faces stiff competition from software, microchip, telecommunications
and other aerospace companies.
"We continue to work on retention, to make
this a special place to work," added Shabay. Bell enjoys a 97% retention
rate, which is more in line with the high rates of European companies
than those in the U.S.
At Embraer, Jose Renator Oliveira Melo, director
of engineering, said the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer continues
to focus on recruiting flight control, environmental control, load
and interior design engineers.
Melo said, "To overcome the shortage of engineers,
we have just begun a new training program in which we hired more
than 100 young engineers without experience in aviation and are
giving them the proper training to fill future vacancies." Embraer
typically allocates 10% of its new positions for new college graduates.
Fairchild Dornier plans to hire 500 more people
in Germany (including new university graduates) by year-end after
hiring 1,000 during the past 12 months.
"We hire for experience and expertise, but
we also look for potential," said Rudolf Mueller, Fairchild Dornier’s
senior vice president for human resources. "We look for young people
with limited experience but who have the mindset for this business,
and then we educate them."
As Fairchild Dornier ramps up production of
its 728JET, hiring of production workers also continues. "We just
opened the final assembly line in Munich," added Mueller.
Bombardier Aerospace had planned to hire thousands
of people this year. However, the company announced in late September
that 3,800 employees in Canada, the U.S. and U.K. would be laid
off by year-end. Company officials said another 2,700 could lose
their jobs early next year if the markets do not "significantly
recover within the next few months."
Schools Targeted by Aerospace firms
Companies choose the universities where they
recruit for a variety of reasons. Schools in the Midwest are noted
for producing graduates with a good work ethic. Other institutions
are identified as top schools on the basis of research, diversity
of opportunities for students, caliber of the faculty or the demographic
makeup of the student body.
Boeing’s senior vice president for engineering
and technology/chief technology officer, David Swain, said the company
recently completed a study of its campus recruiting history.
"We knew we wanted the best talent," said Swain.
"We need to concentrate our energy. In the past, we have just been
spread too thin."
Boeing evaluated each college on the basis
of where it could hire the most engineers, how well the school’s
graduates have done at Boeing, the quality of the school’s research,
the demographics of its enrollment and its ranking in national polls
of engineering schools.
"We like to recruit at Georgia Tech because
of its program, but it also has the second-largest African-American
graduating class of engineers in the country, behind Florida A&M,"
explained Lockheed Martin’s Staley.
Aerospace companies also look to schools whose
alumni already are employees. "If we have had success before, we
want to go back," said Dong of BAE Systems.
Fairchild Dornier and Airbus Industrie are
searching throughout Europe and beyond for new employees.
"Certain qualifications demand that we do,"
said Fairchild Dornier’s Mueller. "The latest thinking on integrated
product teams is coming from North America, not Europe. We also
are recruiting in Indonesia, where there are experienced aircraft
engineers."
Erik Pillet, Airbus’ senior vice president
for human resources, said his company recruits primarily at specialized
schools in France, the U.K., Spain and Germany.
"We encourage our engineers to speak at the
universities and forge relationships with the students," said Pillet.
"Many of our senior managers and engineers are involved in creating
and improving courses that are needed in the universities."
Skills in High Demand
The greatest need for new talent in the aerospace
industry is in five areas--software development, computer engineering,
electrical engineering, systems integration and structures. People
with degrees in these fields are being sought to fill these positions.
However, that is not all the companies want.
"We need people with technical skills and strong
communication, teamwork and leadership skills," said Robert Manigold,
vice president of human resources and administration at Arinc. "We
must bring products to market faster and more efficiently, so these
abilities are very important."
David Ramsay, human resources director for
Smiths Aerospace, said, "We continue to hire manufacturing/ industrial,
design or mechanical, and software engineers," he said. The most
dramatic shift in skills for engineers is the ability to work in
a worldwide matrix, Ramsay said, adding, "Our business is spread
across Canada, the U.K. and the U.S., so this is important to us."
Foley said UTC’s most critical need is for
computer, software, mechanical and electrical engineers.
Lockheed Martin is looking for people with
skills in disciplines that can be applied to virtually all of the
company’s products, such as RF, software or electronic engineering,
Staley said.
Bell Helicopter Textron seeks graduates from
the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Maryland,
both of which have programs dedicated to helicopters and vertical
flight. Bell’s Shabay said, "Software development, avionics, simulation
and flight control development remain the hottest jobs here."
Among the top employers of engineers is the
U.S. Air Force. The Materiel Command employs 8,600 civilian engineers
and scientists. Bob Bunting, chief of resources for the Engineering
and Technology Management Directorate, said 30-35% of its engineers
will retire by 2007. Currently, one third of the engineers are 31-40
years old, so another surge in retirements is expected in about
20 years. The Air Force is operating at 70% of its military engineering
manpower needs, and the push is on to recruit more pilots and engineers
to work in aircraft development.
The U.S. Navy is in the same position. According
to Lt. Stephen Johnson at the Naval Recruiting Command in Memphis,
the service only has recruited about 116 of a planned 278 naval
flight officers for 2002. Not only are pilots needed, but so are
the engineers who become pilots and test and develop new aircraft.
"The installment of the baccalaureate-degree completion program
has helped bring in more aviators over the last year," Johnson reported.
Pilots’ prospects for employment with passenger-carrying
airlines are dimming. With the market for business aircraft softening
(despite continued growth of fractional aircraft programs and a
surge in charter activity after the terrorist attacks), the need
for civilian pilots will be depressed for the near future.
Different
Paths to an Aviation Career >>
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