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Aerospace jobs - Sky is the limit |
Aerospace jobs: Sky’s the limit
NSCC opens new aviation institute in Dartmouth
By TOM PETERS Business Reporter
Thu. Apr 30 - 5:57 AM
The aerospace and defense industry is resilient and will bounce back from the global economic challenges it faces, says a vice-president with Bombardier Aerospace.
"A lot of companies are spending a lot of time right-sizing and taking a look internally and basically planning for the future in the face of known and unknown risks," said David Jurkowski.
But the industry is increasing "and will continue to increase, there is no question," the keynote speaker at a workforce strategy and careers forum said Wednesday.
"People have to travel and goods have to travel and one of the most efficient ways of doing that is by air. The world population is increasing and global economies are going to dictate that, so it’s there," he said.
Mr. Jurkowski was one of several speakers at the two-day event presented by the Aerospace and Defence Human Resources Partnership at the Nova Scotia Community College Aviation Institute in Woodside.
The 43,000-square foot facility, which formerly housed the Moirs chocolate factory, was officially opened Wednesday. It has about 150 students in aircraft maintenance engineer programs covering mechanical, structures and avionics aspects of the field.
It cost about $1.5 million to renovate the building that houses about $5 million in training aids, including 12 aircraft — both rotary and fixed-wing —and a one-of-a-kind avionics simulator donated by Bombardier.
Mr. Jurkowski said people might not be thinking about a career in aerospace because of the present instability, but there is a great future in the industry.
"The biggest thing for us is to look ahead — to look at what changed the game in aerospace, to keep competitive with composite materials, more electric aircraft, and things of that nature." He pointed to the new C Series aircraft developed by Bombardier as one way the aerospace industry is evolving.
"It basically will have 15 per cent lower operating costs than the best that will be out there by 2013. It will have a 20 per cent fuel burn advantage, a 20 per cent decrease in the creation of carbon dioxide and, in particular, a 50 per cent decrease in creation of nitrous oxide, and will be four times as quiet as the quietest airliner out there now," said Mr. Jurkowski.
"Changing markets, changing technologies, that’s the name of the game," he said, stressing the importance of customer needs now and in the future.
"We do have to invest in the future in technologies and in people above all things. Changing people’s interests toward a career in aerospace, we’ve got to motivate people now because we don’t want to have a shortage of skilled individuals in the future."
According to aerospace and defence labour market analysis, about 2,200 new jobs are expected to open up in Atlantic Canada over the next five years.
Peter Bing, the aviation institute’s academic chair, said "all students are employed before they graduate, mostly with IMP (Aerospace). The college is doing its best to meet their . . . needs, but we are still behind," he said.
The structures program was started for IMP and has 31 students.
Mr. Jurkowski said industry partnerships with institutions such as NSCC are important.
"We are helping out where we can and making it known to students right now and students down the line that the aerospace industry is a very, very fascinating place to go. We need highly skilled students and places like NSCC do a fine job and the facility here is magnificent. So this is important to develop this kind of capability right across the country." Premier Rodney MacDonald said the future of aerospace and defence in the province is "extremely bright," pointing to a 183 per cent industry growth in Nova Scotia in the last seven years.
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