16 March 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Wichita’s aviation success and the need for more trained aviation workers got some attention on Capitol Hill Thursday morning.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing about strengthening the aviation workforce. Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas is on the committee.
“The aviation workforce is experiencing unique challenges that will impact Kansas and the nation,” Moran said.
The committee invited several aviation industry and education leaders, including Sheree Utash, Wichita State University (WSU) Tech president. She submitted six pages of testimony on Tuesday and answered senators’ questions on Thursday.
“Dr. Utash offers a unique perspective with experience in teaching and working in both higher education and private industry, as she has helped to combat workforce challenges,” Moran said.
In her testimony, Utash told the senators that the industry needs the government’s help. She said North America is expected to need 134,000 new technicians by 2040, but “the U.S. is ill-poised to meet that demand.”
Utash said the government, education, and the aviation industry would have to collaborate to ensure people are trained to fill those jobs. She said WSU Tech’s National Center for Aviation Training, which opened 12 years ago, is a great example of that kind of collaboration.
She also pointed to things WSU Tech is doing to grow the aviation workforce.
“We have recently created the Future Ready Center for Aviation and Manufacturing with the state’s largest school district (Wichita Public Schools) where juniors and seniors can begin their technical education career while in high school,” Utash said.
“We’ve developed a new earn-and-learn program … Get to WERX with a local maintenance repair operation, where students are employed day one and work full-time in addition to going to college. The employer pays them a full-time wage and benefits in addition to funding their education.”
Utash told the committee members that the aviation education industry needs:
Aviation career awareness of middle school children
Short-term Pell grants
Continued and increased funding of workforce grants
Strategies to encourage diversity in gender and underrepresented populations
Better transition for veterans
She said that WSU Tech has applied for the last two rounds of grants and did not receive them. But she said she reviewed other schools’ applications and thought they were equally deserving.
“Every single one of those proposals that I perused and looked at I thought had a great return on investment,” Utash said.
She is asking for grant funding to be expanded.
The senators asked about training pilots and the cost associated with a pilot’s education.
“We just started a pilot program almost two years ago,” Utash said. It has been full. It is very popular, but it is very expensive, and it’s very hard to braid the funding together in order to offset the tuition and fee costs in addition to the flight costs.”
Some of the extra costs are for aircraft, flight instructors, insurance, and aircraft maintenance. Utash said the price for the two-year program at WSU Tech is in the mid $80,000s, and it is a barrier for some students.
One of the senators asked about expanding federal help.
“I would support that tremendously,” Utash said.
In addition to Utash, the committee heard from:
Constance von Muehlen, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Alaska Airlines
Capt. Jason Ambrosi, president, Air Line Pilots Association, International
David Spero, national president, Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO
Dr. Rebecca Lutte, associate professor, University of Nebraska-Omaha Aviation Institute / Women in Aviation Advisory Board
Raman Ramanathan, partner, Ernst & Young, Americas Aerospace & Defense Leader
“Our nation and state’s success within this vital sector depends on those who train, educate, and prepare our students to be ready contributors within the aviation industry,” Moran said in a news release. “In order for our nation to continue leading in aviation, it will take innovative programs like those Dr. Utash has helped implement.”