Congress Urged To Boost Funding of Aerospace Education

The Senate Commerce Committee met with stakeholders to discuss aviation workforce challenges ahead of FAA Reauthorization.

Amelia Walsh

Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 06:30 PM ET

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The Senate Commerce Committee March 16 hearing focused on strengthening the aviation workforce comes as Congress readies for FAA Reauthorization. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

A U.S. Senate panel identified high training costs and a significant lack of diversity as the primary challenges facing the aviation workforce, urging Congress to increase funding for aerospace education and workforce development grants.
Stakeholders strongly opposed any proposals to lower aviation safety standards, such as the 1,500-hour pilot flight time rule, emphasizing that a training backlog, not a shortage of pilots, is the main constraint on air travel.
The industry struggles with low diversity, particularly for women who are underrepresented in aviation roles, due to high costs, work-life balance issues, and workplace culture challenges.

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The high cost of aviation training and the lack of diversity among the aviation workforce are some of the most pressing issues affecting the aerospace workforce, stakeholders told a U.S. Senate panel Thursday.

The Senate Commerce Committee March 16 hearing focused on strengthening the aviation workforce comes as Congress readies for FAA Reauthorization. Thursday’s hearing highlighted challenges facing the aviation workforce and presented solutions for improving the education, recruitment, hiring, training, and retention of workers in the industry and at the FAA. Increasing diversity and awareness for underrepresented groups was also a main topic of discussion.