In these hard economic times, there’s one employer desperately searching for employees to take jobs it can’t fill.

AAR Aircraft Services Corporation, based in Oklahoma City, has hundreds of open spots for people who have the skills to work on aircraft. AAR offers mechanical servicing of jet aircraft, such as passenger planes from Mesa Air and Alaska Airlines.

The company lacks the skilled blue collar aircraft mechanic who has been trained in an aircraft mechanic school. These positions that the company needs include aviation mechanic and workers with the knowledge to work on hydraulics and electrical systems. About 600 positions are open at the company.

The aircraft industry is one of the brighter spots in an otherwise bleak economy, where millions are unemployed or working part-time jobs to pay bills.

AAR has suffered a lack of skilled airplane mechanics for years.

The problem is that a company can’t take people fresh from high school and expect them to work as an aviation mechanic.

“These are very technically qualified positions,” said Anita Brown, head of human resources at AAR. People can’t be taken off the street and trained, she added.

Aviation mechanics start out earning between $12 to $15 per hour, Brown said. The aviation mechanic who has been certified and earned his FAA Airframe and Powerplant licenses can earn $28 per hour. Brown said that AAR can’t keep these skilled jobs filled.

AAR’s facility in Indianapolis has openings for 283 people, while this facility in Oklahoma City has nearly 200 positions waiting for skilled people. The AAR operation in Miami also is short of workers. AAR owns facilities throughout the world.

As an airplane mechanic builds experience working on planes, he gains more skills. Top aircraft mechanics will learn about different aspects of a plane, such as how to work on the wing and fuselage, known also as the ribs and skin.

They learn about fabricating metal parts, repairing plumbing in the lavatory, tracing electronic problems and repairing jet engines.

These people are like a wide receiver who not only catches the football but can return kickoffs, run the ball and throw touchdown passes. His importance and versatility make him a key player on the team.

This aircraft mechanic’s skill with hydraulics, pneumatics and electronics makes him a desirable employee. He can write his own ticket, work at nearly any aircraft maintenance company and command a high salary. Just like a key football player, other companies try to lure him away with a higher salary.

“And when you’re talking about electricity, they’re also working not only in DC voltage but AC voltage as well — which makes them very attractive to other companies and other industries,” said Wayne Jamroz, AAR’s general manager at the Oklahoma facility.

Twenty-five dollars an hour may not be enough to hold a key employee like this, Jamroz said. The US military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq have attracted many American aircraft mechanics who earn a great salary plus hazardous duty pay.

Mechanics also know they can earn $5 to $10 per hour more at Tinker Air Force Base and at the American Airlines facility in Tulsa.

Newly hired airplane mechanics who graduate from a local technical school study skills like sheet metal repair. Tuition at these schools can cost about $2,000. A graduate of this school can start at $12 per hour, but this school training is only preparation to begin more training.

AAR partners with the Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology in Tulsa which is an aircraft mechanic school that graduates a trained aircraft mechanic. Tuition, though, is $28,000.

Original source: http://www.npr.org/2011/12/13/143586152/airplane-mechanics-a-farm-team-for-everyone-else

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