Meeting Work Force Challenges with Long-Term Solutions
Written by Jennifer Devlin
From these numbers, we could assume that the space and missile community is immune from any tangible work force issues. But are we immune? Let’s look at the work force issues and shortages the space and missile community is currently experiencing.
ORBITAL REMAINS POSITIVE AMID CHANGE
Some smaller industry leaders, such as Orbital Sciences Corp., are doing well with the work force they currently have in place, due to the timeline of production goals and mission objectives. According to Steve Taylor, a senior principal logistics engineer with Orbital in Huntsville, the company is “thankful for the work force they currently employ, and with the focused mission and production goals in place, work force shortages are not a significant issue in the Huntsville office.”
Taylor also stated that Orbital is committed to nurturing the work force both locally and companywide, in order to maintain a strong working relationship as they shift from production to maintenance and refurbishment goals in the future.
GENERATION GAP
Government organizations and larger companies are bracing for changes in work force strength caused by a perfect storm of sorts. Along with concerns over the new budget and administration changes, a generation gap looms. While Orbital is seemingly untouched by the dangers of a generation gap, many sectors of the industry are in a much different situation.
The AIA reported in its January 2009 report, “The Role of Space,” that within the entire aerospace industry, 60 percent of the work force is 45 years old or older. The potential retirement of many senior engineers in key positions causes concern. There is also a lack of backfill engineers coming up through the ranks that will leave the space and missile community, along with many other organizations, with a shortage of qualified workers. While the generation gap will be felt throughout the missile and space community, outsourcing is not a common option for this industry sector, due to clearance restrictions and nature of the work. So, other solutions must be found.
LONG-TERM SOLUTION IMPLEMENTATION BEGINS
Larger companies have seen the challenges arising and are seeking long-term solutions to the potential gap. Mentoring and seeking out new recruits is a key focus. Dr. Richard Amos, president of COLSA in Huntsville, agrees that “we will need to do some restructuring and refocusing of how we recruit—including more interns and entry-level personnel to the mix, and mentoring in order to develop a new generation of engineers.” Industry leaders such as COLSA aren’t the only ones implementing new recruiting strategies.
The Missile Defense Agency began a national recruiting strategy about a year ago. The strategy focused on recruiting nationwide, instead of reaching out only to a radius of a few states or a region. By going further geographically, and targeting government employees across the nation as well as upcoming engineering college graduates, the pool of potential personnel has increased.
Troy Trulock, retired military officer and former MDA employee, acknowledges that “by recruiting experienced government employees and college graduates in order to get both senior and junior engineers in the work force, we will help solve the void experienced when senior engineers retire. Right now, there are not enough junior engineers to backfill the void.”
INVOLVING THE EDUCATION COMMUNITY
Colleges and universities are also beginning to actively recruit more engineering students, in hopes of solving the shortage problem. Currently, work force shortfalls are felt in aerospace, mechanical and aviation engineers as well as with more acute shortages with system engineers and senior software engineers. According to the AIA, a recent survey revealed that only 7.5 percent of U.S. college freshmen were interested in engineering. Out of 270,000 students, this percentage is the lowest since the 1970s. The space and missile community is actively partnering with educators to reach the next generation.
Boeing announced in a press release at the end of February that it will begin a four-year national partnership with FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), valued at $4 million, to encourage students to explore careers in math and science. With such a partnership, Boeing as one of the nine “strategic partners” of the program will join the search for future leaders in the space and missile industry.
Other industry leaders have begun mentoring efforts of their own. Raytheon’s program is called “MathMovesU,” Lockheed Martin has the “Engineers in the Classroom” initiative, and the AIA has a “Team America Rocketry Challenge.” The AIA reports that among their members, over $8 million is spent annually on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education programs. Outside their membership, another $10 million is spent by larger companies.
HUNTSVILLE AND THE BRAC ISSUE
Aside from the long-term problem of a generation gap, there is a short-term work force challenge in the Huntsville area caused by Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) initiatives. Over 2,200 new positions in MDA alone, due to BRAC, are set to move to Huntsville. The scope of BRAC jobs coming to Huntsville exceeds 4,700. With a major part of the space and missile industry located in the Huntsville area, the effects of those BRAC changes will cause a ripple effect of challenges in filling open positions.
While North Alabama will enjoy more jobs opening up in the area due to the addition of engineering positions, the community also faces the dilemma of an initial shortage of engineers to fill those jobs. To make matters worse, many of the current personnel of the organizations set to move to Huntsville are less willing than originally thought to move with the transition.
At a recent Women in Defense luncheon, Lieutenant General Patrick O’Reilly, director, MDA, pointed out that the downturn of the economy and the housing market troubles have played a part in keeping civilian engineers from committing to relocation.
BUILDING A COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO WORK FORCE SHORTAGES
A common theme among military, industry and community is the recognition that working together to recruit new employees will bring strength to the industry as a whole. The Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce is coordinating opportunities for both government and industry to work together in providing recruiting opportunities.
The Chamber’s Smart Place recruitment strategy hinges on a job board that shows on one site all the job openings in the community. The job board was packaged with “live” and “play” information and marketed to target audiences of engineers, IT professionals and other technical workers. Participating employers included NASA, MDA, and both large and small aerospace and defense companies.
“We know there are more than 9,000 open jobs in our community, and nearly a third of them are in engineering,” said Lucia Cape, the chamber’s vice president for work force. “We have upgraded our job search technology to capture online postings directly from company Websites throughout Huntsville and the Tennessee Valley BRAC communities.”
In coming months, “A Smart Place on the Road” will participate in engineering, IT and security clearance job fairs in the Washington, D.C., area, Dayton and Colorado Springs. The chamber is also sponsoring events to bring prospective co-op students and college seniors to Huntsville to get a first-hand glimpse of the community while learning more about the job opportunities.
“We know if we can get them here, we can keep them,” said Joe Alexander, president of Camber Corp., and the chamber’s vice chair for work force. “The hard part is convincing them to come the first time. Then the community sells itself.”
The chamber also works directly with employers to help them retain their young professional work force through its Bridges program. The program helps these young professionals integrate socially and professionally beyond their workplace, emphasizing the “live, work and play” elements.
The chamber’s actions are significant because they reflect a commitment to providing work force solutions across the missile and space community. For a city to reach out in such a creative way, including both government and industry representatives, not only helps meet work force shortages in a community; it will bolster the work of military space and missile defense projects around the country, as the Huntsville work force plays a part in the big picture of our country’s defense program. ♦