The technician gap is real — and technology is part of the answer

A new generation of startups is rethinking how the aviation industry trains, augments, and retains its most critical talent.

At the X, a series of industry insights from TechNexus Venture Collaborative, explores how innovation lives at the intersection of emerging technologies and legacy industries. With tens of thousands of aircraft mechanics set to retire over the next decade, the aviation industry faces a workforce crisis that can’t be solved by hiring alone. A new generation of startups is rethinking how the industry trains, augments, and retains its most critical talent. A Crisis Decades in the Making The numbers are stark. North America is currently short approximately 17,000 certificated aircraft mechanics. Another 45,000 technicians are expected to retire over the next decade. The shortfall is projected to peak in 2028, when the deficit could reach as many as 30,000 mechanics. This didn’t happen overnight. The September 11 attacks triggered years of airline hiring freezes, creating what analysts call a “lost generation” of mechanics. COVID-19 drove thousands more out of the industry. And the pipeline of military veterans who once fed the civilian workforce has thinned considerably. Today, the average age of a certificated A&P mechanic in the U.S. is 54. “It really is a perfect storm,” Brian Prentice, a partner at Oliver Wyman’s transportation and operations practice, told CNN. “Aircraft are flying longer, demand for travel is high, and we’re losing experienced technicians at the same time.” Meanwhile, the FAA issued 9,013 new mechanic certificates in 2024—the second-highest total on record, but still woefully insufficient against projected retirements and demand growth. Even today, roughly one-third of A&P training seats sit empty, a mismatch driven by attrition and faculty shortages at aviation maintenance schools. The industry can’t just hire its way out of this crisis. It needs a complete rethink of how aviation maintenance is trained, delivered, and sustained. Why Hiring Alone Won’t Fix It The traditional response to a skills shortage—recruit more, train more, pay more

By Jim Dallke at TechNexus Venture Collaborative