The High School Programs Training a New Generation of Aviation Mechanics
Every flight you’ve ever taken has relied on aircraft mechanics to maintain the plane and its engines. Sometimes, your flight might even be delayed because of maintenance.
The commercial airline industry has a strong demand for mechanics. With current openings and a wave of retirements, airlines will need to fill an estimated 11,000 job openings each year.
We recently looked at programs for high school students that could help to address this shortage. Today’s WatchBlog post looks at this new report.
How high schoolers are learning aviation maintenance
About 100 schools around the country offer training to high school students on aviation maintenance. Some high schools offer this training directly. But, in most cases, high schoolers access training through local colleges, universities, or career and technical education schools.
And not all of these programs are certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Certified schools are in-person schools that are overseen by the FAA and must meet certain regulations. For example, classes must be taught by certified mechanics. And shop class size is limited to no more than 25 students per instructor.
Uncertified schools provide exposure to aviation maintenance through online and classroom instruction. But students attending these programs are not generally eligible to take the FAA mechanic tests without further education at certified schools. These tests are the first step to becoming a qualified aviation mechanic.
High schoolers who study aviation mechanics may go on to pursue a range of career paths including working for major airlines, airplane manufacturers, or the military. Skills learned in this training are also transferrable to other in-demand fields, like maintenance on oil rigs or at amusement parks.
While these courses may offer lucrative career options, experts we spoke with identified several barriers that may prevent more students from pursuing careers as aviation mechanics. Foremost among these barriers is a lack of awareness of the profession, as mechanics are less visible than other aviation professionals, like pilots.
But another key barrier is the cost of testing and additional education. Testing costs can be thousands of dollars. And if students wish to continue their education, additional education costs may also be significant. This is especially true for graduates of uncertified programs.
Reducing testing barriers to meet workforce demands
Graduates of uncertified programs are generally ineligible to take the FAA general knowledge test. To become eligible, they must retake courses at certified schools. This can be a time consuming and costly process that may discourage students from pursuing careers in aviation maintenance—eliminating potential candidates who could help fill workforce needs in this field.
In 2024, Congress required FAA to establish a working group of aviation industry experts to assess whether high school students should be allowed to take the exam, regardless of whether the program is certified or not. This change would potentially open a door for graduates of uncertified programs and increase the pool of potential mechanics. However, FAA has not established the working group or completed the assessment because a key committee was terminated.
Even so, we recommended FAA convene a working group and complete this assessment. Doing so could help identify opportunities to expand the pool of qualified aviation mechanics. This effort would also give FAA an opportunity to consider how to address concerns about having enough qualified aviation mechanics in the workforce.
To learn more about aviation maintenance training opportunities for high school students, check out our recent report.
