“The Best, Brightest and Most Diverse” Aviation and Aerospace Workforce
Deputy Administrator Mims discusses strategies to introduce aviation to the next generation, from in-person events to social media.
By Bradley Mims, FAA Deputy Administrator
Adapted from remarks Deputy Administrator Mims delivered to the Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force meeting on March 31, 2021. You can watch the full meeting — which was open to the public — on the FAA’s YouTube channel.
It’s an exciting time to be in the aviation and aerospace fields. We’re seeing rapid advances in drones, rockets, urban air mobility, and supersonic transport.
It’s also an exciting time to enter into these fields. We’re looking for a new generation of pilots, engineers, dispatchers, and air traffic controllers. But the opportunities extend far beyond those more well-known roles. We also need maintenance technicians, mechanics, and drone operators. And we need cybersecurity specialists, data analysts, program managers, communication specialists, and other professionals who play an essential role.
The FAA wants to attract the best, brightest and most diverse group of people to work in the aviation and aerospace industry, and in order to do that, we need to reach kids and young people in an inclusive and equitable way. Whether you grew up in the city, the suburbs, or on a farm, we want you to consider a career in these fields. We want to attract more racial minorities, people from underserved communities, and people with disabilities.
How do we do this? We have to reach kids at early ages.
For instance, there is a young man named Calvin Cooper, Jr. He grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. When he was just three years old, Calvin sat on his Dad’s shoulders at the Navy Air and Sea show in Fort Lauderdale. When he was 11 years old, he got involved in an Aviation Career Enrichment program, known in the aviation community as ACE, in Atlanta. And when Calvin was in high school, members of the FAA’s National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees visited to talk about careers in aviation. Because of that visit, Calvin and his father decided to start an FAA Aviation Club at school.
The club set up field trips to air shows and air traffic control towers. The kids operated a flight simulator sponsored by their school. After graduating, Calvin earned a scholarship and enrolled in Auburn University’s Aviation Management Program. He did a co-op in Delta Airlines’ maintenance and repair shop. Since then, he’s worked at Boeing, Honeywell, and Accufleet International. Calvin plans to become a commercial airline pilot. He’s going to join the Air Force where he can build his flight hours, while serving his country in the process.
And it all started at an air show when he was just three years old.
It’s important for agencies like the FAA to reach young people where they are, and today that means making sure we’re using tools like social media to spread the word. It’s exciting to see how young people are using digital platforms to share aviation with the world. For instance, right now there’s a million people following @planegirl/@bayflight, aka 22-year old Stevie Triesenberg. She flies a Beechcraft C35 Bonanza and shares her flying adventures with all of her followers. By sharing her interests, other young women can see themselves in the cockpit too.
And get this — Stevie was inspired to fly after seeing an Instagram post. Go figure.
Administrator Dickson recently interviewed Stevie about her aviation journey, which you can watch that below or on the FAA’s YouTube channel. I encourage everyone to check it out.
So we need to reach kids early. And we need to reach them where they are, both in person and in the digital world. Let’s identify the pathways to success — exposure and awareness, scholarships, internships, coaching, mentoring, networking, and so forth. Let’s identify and remedy ANY barriers that stand in the way of a career in aviation and aerospace.
The Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force is helping us accomplish these goals. And we very much look forward to its recommendations.
A. Bradley Mims was appointed to serve as Deputy Administrator at the Federal Aviation Administration by the Biden-Harris Administration, and he assumed his role in February 2021. Mims has served as a transportation professional in government and the private sector for over 40 years. Read his full bio on FAA.gov.
