Canada's Department of National Defence (DND) is looking to partner with the private sector on training programs that can help overcome chronic shortages of skilled aviation and aero- space technicians across the country.

Military officers, federal government officials, aviation company executives, technology developers and educators discussed their plight at a recent two-day Society for the Advancement of Modelling and Simulation (SAMS) symposium at Carleton University in Ottawa.

Both the Canadian Forces and the private sector are looking to replenish rapidly retiring skilled-labour pools.

"I would like to see the air force be part of a system that generates good, qualified technicians for our country," says Lieut.-Col. Rick Thompson, an air force training officer who helped co-ordinate the Ottawa event. "If we have a well of people with knowledge about safe aviation practices, that's a good thing."

Aviation analyst Rick Erickson.

The Canadian Forces and private companies both hope to increase the number of skilled technicians through Internet-based 3-D modelling and simulation software that can recreate aircraft components and spare the cost of building costly maintenance simulators.

Thompson says representatives from DND, Human Resource Skills Development Canada and community colleges agree that the air force and aviation industry are losing skilled people, while colleges "don't seem to be taking in enough people at the rates that the nation requires.

"We concurred that we have a problem on a national scale," says Thompson.

According to the Aviation Industries Association of Canada, this country is home to more than 1,100 certified aircraft maintenance organizations, which generate more than $3 billion in annual revenues and employ 17,000 highly skilled workers.

While accurate, up-to-date reports on aerospace labour demand are hard to obtain, "demographics being what they are, we're looking at some pretty ugly numbers with the aging workforce," says Thompson.

The air force graduates 300 recruits per year from its basic training school, but would like to produce more pilots and technicians, he adds. Ottawa covers university tuition costs for recruits who sign up for a five-year hitch in the air force.

Recruits complete their university studies first before entering the military. The air force is also partnering with Collège Edouard Montpetit in the Montreal suburb of Longueil and Nova Scotia Institute of Technology on technician training programs.

The two colleges use an air force instruction syllabus and officers are on campus to monitor students. Thompson says the air force is trying to be as flexible as possible in its "human-resource approach."

"There's a certain amount of contracting out that has to take place to keep the fleets going," he says. "There are (air force) fleets that are contemplating variations on getting more contracted assistance and then we can recycle people who are maybe wanting to move to the private sector, but still like the air force work. We'll hire them on contract."

He says DND and the Canadian aviation industry can also team up to help Asian markets meet rapidly increasing demand for aviation equipment, services and maintenance.

"India, China, Indonesia - all the emerging markets - are going to have a big demand for pilots and technicians. That's going to be a challenge."

Whether they are in the air force or working for an airline, the majority of technicians are in their 40s.

Thompson stresses the organization welcomes people of all ages and recruiting younger officers is just one of many approaches being used to increase the labour pool.

"We're looking at what happens when those 40-year-olds turn into 50-year-olds, which is not that far off," says Thompson, who is in his 30th year with the air force.

The Internet is creating many opportunities on which the air force and companies can capitalize together, he adds. It will also enable the air force to unify its training programs across the country.

Jeff Roberts is the president of the innovation and civil training and services group for Montreal-based CAE, which operates 25 training centres around the world and trains technicians and pilots for the private sector and military.

He says demand is being driven by the number of new aircraft going into service globally and the fact traditional labour-supply sources are not as robust as in the past.

"A lot of pilots and maintenance (historically) came out of the military and the military has not seen the same number leaving their ranks - or even being in their ranks - as we've experienced in the past," says Roberts. "One of the fallouts is the attraction to get into aerospace industry. We saw some pretty material declines after the event of 9/11. Today, we're paying the price of that to some degree."

Every airplane that goes into service requires 10 to 12 maintenance people, he estimates. If the global delivery average is 700 to 900 new commercial planes per year, there will be a demand for approximately 15,000 new maintenance technicians annually. Meanwhile, the number of retirees is expected to peak within a few years.

CAE trains technicians for commercial airlines, the military and manufacturers while also providing flight simulators, online learning materials and course curriculum.

The company plans to create a technician-provisioning program similar to one it already conducts with pilots and complete a global assessment of technician-training providers to see how they can "accelerate the number of personnel that they create in a shorter period of time."

The aim is to provide technicians with on-the-job training and hand-held 3D software tools that allow them to troubleshoot and diagnose problems, complete necessary repairs or part-replacements and put planes back in service more quickly.

Historically, says Roberts, 60 to 70 per cent of technicians employed at North American companies have had military experience.

Given the declining numbers of people in, and coming out of, the military, companies have had to recruit from other sources and adapt training programs, because ex-military personnel were more "up to speed."

Calgary-based aviation industry analyst Rick Erickson says former Canadian air force personnel are not a reliable source of maintenance talent for the private sector. Ex-military technicians are required to obtain provincial certification and they must first take refresher courses and write exams at technical schools - and many do not want to go through the training process again.

Senior technicians have also been well paid and have good pension-type benefits, so they are leaving the industry as early as possible, often at age 55.

"That does not work to the advantage of the Forces," says Erickson. "They're also having problems trying to recruit. They're another one of those standing in line for graduates coming out of the various trade schools."

Typically, they can't - or at least they haven't until recently - been able to pay as much as the private sector, he adds. "That's part of the reason why they've gone the third-party route (for maintenance and repairs)."

He says the industry has to attract more students into college programs, including recruiting expatriates working abroad.

(Monte Stewart can be reached at monte@businessedge.ca)