ACAA’s Workforce Initiatives Promote Career Development Across Western PA

When Rudo Mathende was younger, she couldn’t stop noticing planes. Friends called her obsessed. But it wasn’t her peers or parents who inspired her to pursue a career in aircraft maintenance; it was a music video of Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” from “Top Gun: Maverick.”

“I was just minding my business and then all of a sudden, on this big, 65-inch TV, a plane just goes in my face and … I was entranced,” Mathende said. “I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

In October 2023, the Zimbabwe native started a 21-month program for an associate’s degree in aviation maintenance at Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics (PIA) at Allegheny County Airport. On June 23, she’ll graduate with licenses in airframe and powerplant maintenance.

Derek Vrabel, the Institute’s Student Services Coordinator, said that PIA’s “nose-to-tail” aviation maintenance and avionics curriculum draws employers from across the country to its bi-annual fairs. PIA hosted its spring fair on May 7.

Retirement Crisis

There is another compelling reason why employers are eager to meet the soon-to-graduate students.

“The average age of an aviation mechanic is 59 years old,” Vrabel said. “We are in a full-on retirement crisis.”

The Aviation Technician Education Council’s 2024 Pipeline Report found that despite a 32 percent increase in new mechanic certifications in 2023, the industry is projected to face a shortage of about 25,000 mechanics by 2028.

Boeing’s Pilot and Technician Outlook report, which predicts aviation sector trends, suggests that the global commercial aircraft fleet will need 716,000 new maintenance technicians over the next 20 years.

Another piece of the puzzle is that air travel is constantly growing. Even amid current economic uncertainties, Vrabel said that the number of passenger flights is on the rise.

“Even if flights, one day, went unmanned, they’re still going to need to be fixed by human beings. That will never ever change. Everyone involved is going to see good years coming up now and for the rest of our lives,” he said.

Allegheny County Airport Partners

PIA’s campus is located at Allegheny County Airport (AGC) in West Mifflin, which spans 432 acres — compared to the more than 8,800 acres at Pittsburgh International Airport. Both airports are operated by the Allegheny County Airport Authority.

AGC hosts private charter services, medical flights, flight schools, private flyers, or just about anything aside from scheduled commercial flights.

Having aviation schools on the airport’s campus is significant, said AGC Director Lance Bagnoff, as it contributes to the airport’s reputation as an all-inclusive aviation learning hub.

Bagnoff called the institute an integral part of the airport’s identity, and for good reason: It’s taught students at the site since 1946.

“The way I like to romantically think about it is that we’re educating the next generation of aviation professionals here at the [AGC] campus,” Bagnoff said. “It makes so much more sense when you think about that bigger picture of what the airport does for the aviation industry.”

Workforce Development Initiatives

In the last decade, the commitment to workforce development has expanded to become integral to the entire Allegheny County Airport Authority ecosystem.

In 2013, ACAA launched Ready for Takeoff, a program that introduces middle- and high-school students to a range of careers available at airports. It brings students onsite and sends experts to schools.

Adam Bowser, ACAA’s Workforce Development Manager, said many students are unaware that the aviation industry requires more than pilots and mechanics.

Airports need lawn care technicians and ecology experts to shape surrounding green spaces and deter wildlife. They also need people to help with the swift and constant removal of snow from runways and heavy machinery mechanics to keep that equipment running. There are also onsite firefighting teams, public art managers, accountants and commercial development professionals.

“There are a few thousand people that work here every day, probably at least a hundred jobs that go unfilled across the airport ecosystem every day — there’s not a lot of places in Pittsburgh that can say the same thing,” Bowser said. “We have the ability to make an impact in this region by educating people about the airport being a job hub here in Allegheny County.”

In 2016, the Workforce Development team added Getting Ready for Takeoff to its roster — a similar program geared toward elementary school students.

The goal of both programs is to get airport jobs on students’ radars as soon as possible. Bowser said that Western Pennsylvania’s older workforce demographic, combined with the so-called “demographic cliff” of high school students caused by declining birth rates since 2007, makes the search for workers competitive.

“We’re all recruiting the same people, if it’s going to higher education [or] going into the trades,” Bowser said. “The important thing is educating the general public about the opportunities that are here and then giving them information so they can figure out what pathway is best for them.”

ACAA’s workforce development program took the next step in 2023 with PIT2Work, an acclaimed training program that immerses men and women into the trades. The free, five-week course is a partnership with the Builders Guild of Western Pennsylvania. Partner4Work and Gateways Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics

PIA’s career fair follows a similar philosophy. The May 7 event drew companies of all sizes from across the country, including American Airlines, aircraft developer Gulfstream, regional airline Republic Airways and local construction machinery giant Cleveland Brothers Equipment Co., Inc.

High Flight Academy, based at the Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport, also attended the event to scout new talent.

David Ferraro, a representative for the academy, said both of its mechanics are alumni of the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics. The younger of the two, Mackenzie Wojnarowski, graduated about five years ago.

“She wanted to be close to not only the pilot, but to the airplane itself,” Ferraro said.

High Flight has 16 planes compared to the constant rotation of aircraft that roll through major airline hangars. The resulting close interactions between mechanics, pilots and aircraft are rare.

“It’s very collaborative because the students will come in and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got this little problem,’” Ferraro said. “You get that personal touch where the mechanic walks over and just talks to the pilots, which you rarely ever see.”

Ferraro has attended the institute’s career fairs for the past four years. However, since High Flight’s team is small, he usually spends the day networking. This year, though, the academy is actively recruiting.

“We have all the building blocks to grow one more leap, so we’re going to need somebody,” he said. “We’ll be looking for that maybe in the next three to six months.”

High Flight is an exception to PIA’s expectations. Vrabel tells students to “be prepared to move” away from Pittsburgh.

“There are a lot of times where you’re going to work somewhere else first, but there are jobs in Pittsburgh if you’re dead set on staying here,” Vrabel said.

Mathende is willing to go where the work is.

“Pittsburgh has been good to me, but it is a little bit chilly and I’m more of a warm girl, so I’d love to move down south a little bit,” she said. “But I am flexible to go wherever. If I like the place enough, I am willing to sacrifice some things, get the experience and hopefully transfer later.”

Mathende was hoping to land a job with a major carrier, but many told her they’re not actively recruiting. Still, she’s doing all she can to stay on their radar. Many are directing her toward jobs with regional carriers, which are often affiliated with larger providers and can lead to career advancement.

Just an hour into the career fair, Mathende had run the employer gamut. She carried an eclectic armful of airline-branded pens, magnets, keychains and more. Watching the collection spill onto a table, another employer quickly handed her a company-branded bag.

“I am exhausted,” she said. “They’re only 3-inch heels, but they’re still pretty high for a girl who wears boots every day.”