Ask anyone in aircraft maintenance to name the industry’s biggest challenge, and chances are they will rank finding and keeping qualified technicians at or near the top of the list. For Duncan Aviation, one of the country’s largest business aircraft MROs, the issue came into focus almost 15 years ago while the economy was still in recovery from the Great Recession. “In 2010, we conducted a long-term analysis of what the aviation industry would look like in the next 10 to 15 years,” said Jeff Lake, President of the Lincoln, Nebraska-based company. “The data was clear that by the early 2020s—and beyond—there would be a significant reduction in available labor due to Baby Boomer generation retirements. In addition, we were seeing fewer students coming out of the A&P schools, even as demand for services was increasing.” As Lake explained, the viability of a long-term and prosperous career in aviation maintenance hasn’t been “widely known or included” in options for high school students—or younger—to consider. “It’s one of the best kept secrets,” he said. “At the same time, an aviation maintenance career is high stress. Our technicians shoulder a lot of responsibilities in their daily tasks. The work they perform must be done accurately and with high quality because even a minor misstep could result in a damaged aircraft—or worse.” Lake also noted that aviation maintenance careers must compete with demand from other industries, such as automotive, robotics, trucking, and agricultural equipment. “The airlines are really not our competitor,” he stressed. “People are looking for skilled labor, and many of those industries are offering significant signing bonuses, which is something we have not done.” To ramp up recruiting, Duncan Aviation established an airframe apprenticeship program in March 2019, adding powerplant in August of that year. Initially offered only at the company’s