High demand for industry grads: global aircraft fleets are expected to grow 40 per cent over the next decade.

The employment shortage anticipated across countless global industries is also expected to touch down on the aviation sector, sparking an "unprecedented" level of interest in post-secondary aviation programs across the North.

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The out migration of the "baby boom" era workers and an anticipated 40 per cent growth in the global number of aircraft over 10 years are contributing to this growing interest, says Brian Ktytor, dean of aviation at Thunder Bay's Confederation College.

In turn, aviation companies are knocking on the door of Northern colleges in record numbers in the hopes of heading off potential employment shortages, he says.

"Aviation industry firms are being proactive, where we haven't really experienced this much proactivity before," says Brian Ktytor, dean of aviation at Thunder Bay's Confederation College.

"I had a phone call just today from the vice-president of a major global maintenance and repair organization asking how they can engage with us more. That's the kind of level of attention we're seeing now."

For example, the industry is anticipating a global shortage of 15,000 pilots a year for the next 20 years, while the addition of aircraft to the global fleet will place increased demand on manufacturing and maintenance workers alike.

The industrialization of emerging economies such as India and China is also playing a part in this surge of job openings, says Darrin Caron, dean of trades and technology at North Bay's Canadore College.

Over the next decade, China is due to open 160 new airports, necessitating new planes and new people to pilot, build and maintain those planes. Canadore is partnering with Guangzhou Civil Aviation College to deliver training and programs.

Ktytor says Confederation is looking at similar partnerships, with schools from several countries having expressed an interest in pairing up for new training opportunities.

The response from prospective students has been no less enthusiastic in recent years as the word has begun to emerge about the potential for industry jobs, says Louis St Pierre, academic coordinator of Sault College's Aviation Technology flight component.

While interest initially bottomed out in 2001, numbers began to rise again in recent years, with nearly 200 applications having been received for 65 first-year openings, St Pierre says.

Similarly, Confederation has seen growing application numbers for its own aviation programs. This past school year saw 25 per cent more students looking to sign up for the flight management program, and 12 per cent more students applying for the aviation technician and aircraft maintenance program.

While much of this is being driven by the louder call for jobs, Caron says the ability to work around the world is proving to be a strong draw for many young students who have yet to establish a family or set roots in a certain city. It's not unusual for a maintenance crew to be brought halfway across the world if a particular aircraft needs repair, and that globe-trotting lifestyle seems to be growing brighter by the year, he says.

"Most trades are local; this is not."

This international appeal is not lost on big-name industry employers such as Boeing and Bristol Aerospace, who have taken to offering positions to students as early as the fall, with maintenance engineers often fielding as many as two or more job offers.

Caron says Canadore is seeing a similar phenomenon. Demand has been so rampant that officials are looking at establishing a aviation-sector job fair in order to allow students to browse the many open opportunities at their leisure.

Ideally, schools should develop stronger relationships with airlines, where the colleges would essentially act as a sort of two- or three-year interview process, St Pierre says.

However, other industries have also shown an interest in snapping up graduates, particularly the likes of Bombardier and several other firms involved in light rail and transit, Ktytor says.

Given the intense level of precision required in aerospace manufacturing, graduates from this program are frequently in high demand in other areas where heavy equipment manufacturing is a priority.

In this sense, he says, the power has truly shifted to the hands of the students.

"They can write their own ticket and pick the geography they wish," Ktytor says.

www.confederationc.on.ca

www.canadorec.on.ca

www.saultc.on.ca

By NICK STEWART

Northern Ontario Business