The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) highlighted the need to redouble the focus on attracting the next generation of industry professionals as a national priority and urged Congress to ensure that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) effectively implements plans contained in the agency\u2019s newly enacted reauthorization to build a workforce that preserves America\u2019s global aviation leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An emphasis on promoting workforce-development initiatives was the central theme in testimony provided by Jo Damato, CAM, senior vice president of education, training and workforce development with NBAA, before a hearing convened by the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure\u2019s Aviation Subcommittee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis hearing highlights the importance of recruiting, retaining and engaging aviation talent, and underscores the work that must be energized\u201d to ensure a large, qualified and diverse cohort of industry professionals is equipped to lead the industry in the years ahead, Damato said. She noted that the issue is a top concern for business aviation, which supports 1.2 million U.S. jobs and $247 billion in economic output.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Damato, who learned to fly as a teenager and trained other pilots before joining NBAA, recently represented business aviation on the Department of Transportation\u2019s (DOT\u2019s) Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force, an industry-government group formed to provide workforce-development recommendations to federal transportation leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The subcommittee\u2019s hearing comes as the industry confronts a pressing, two-fold challenge: first, analysts predict that hundreds of thousands of aviation professionals, with a diversity of skill sets, will be needed in the coming decades; second, and of equal concern, a series of bottlenecks \u2013 including financial and cultural barriers, limited access to information and other hurdles \u2013 are impeding the workforce growth needed to meet the coming demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Damato joined the hearing panelists in commending Congress for its bipartisan collaboration with NBAA and others to address the issue, largely through workforce-focused provisions included in the recently codified FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. Specifically, the legislation helps remove barriers for aviation career seekers, while expanding the industry\u2019s workforce \u201cpipeline\u201d and improving training standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis pipeline is critical to our strength as a nation,\u201d Damato said, adding that if the provisions in the FAA bill to support it are implemented effectively, the aviation community will be equipped to move forward on job growth \u201cin ways that have not been possible in recent decades.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To illustrate her point, Damato cited several prescriptive measures in the FAA law that are aimed at catalyzing aviation workforce development. Those measures \u2013 which reflect recommendations from the DOT\u2019s Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force, as well as guidance from a related government-industry group, the FAA\u2019s Women in Aviation Advisory Board \u2013 include language to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe applaud the leaders on this subcommittee, and in both congressional chambers, who understand that America\u2019s leadership in aviation is central to the nation\u2019s leadership in the world,\u201d Damato said. \u201cAn investment in a highly trained and dedicated workforce is an imperative not just for the industry, but for the citizens, companies and communities that depend on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe thank the subcommittee for holding this hearing, and we look forward to working with Congress to promote initiatives that ensure the U.S. remains the global leader in aviation, five, 10 and 25 years into the future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n