The aerospace industry is undergoing disruptions caused by policy changes, technological advancements, labour dynamics, and evolving customer expectations. To thrive in this changing landscape, companies must address complex supply chain issues and upskill their workforce while embracing digital transformation.
FREMONT, CA: Similar to numerous engineering sectors, the aerospace industry has undergone many disruptions in the last few years. These disruptions have resulted in changes in skill sets, demands, and increased expectations from engineers and other professionals in the industry.
A few of these changes have been caused by the modifications in federal government policies, and some others are the results of new technologies and innovations that have opened new doors filled with possibilities for the industry. There have been many reasons for the disruptions in aerospace, which include labour shortages, the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, technological innovations, and changing client and consumer expectations, especially around clean energy and sustainability.
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Disruptions in the Supply Chain
A large source of disruption in the field of the aerospace industry has been the progressively complicated supply chain. Aerospace and defence (A&D) organisations rely on several tiers of suppliers, the numbers generally land in the tens of thousands, and this large number of suppliers can decrease the transparency of the supply chain.
In response to this, companies in A&D can implement certain initiatives which are:
• The diversification of the supply chain to mitigate concentration risk.
• The development of good visibility into the supply chain can enhance supply chain and coordination. This necessitates a transformation in the use of information in A&D.
• Prioritisation of cloud privacy, cybersecurity, and resilience of systems and automation.
• Implementation of digital supply chains to improve monitor supply risk, and disruptions generally occur beyond tier 1.
Dynamics of Labor and Workforce
Although the industry is transforming, the workforce turnover rates are still high, which resulted in decreased production and delays in contracts. This has occurred due to many factors:
• The incorporation of advanced digital technologies, as well as automation, is bringing about a change in the requirements of education, boosting the requirement for improved maths, data science, aerospace engineering, and digital skills.
• There is a gap in the technical skills of defence companies as the industry is moving on from legacy tools and incorporating contemporary operations.
• As the composition has an ageing workforce, it leads to shortages in necessary talent, which increases the competition for talent in the industry.
• The adverse effects of labour dynamics of supply chain problems reduce revenue outlooks.
For instance, an A&D organisation hired 2.5 times the planned engineer hires as a result of high attrition. In addition, a global aerospace OEM predicts that the commercial aerospace segment in the industry could potentially necessitate an additional 610,000 technicians for just the maintenance sector in the next two decades. As the complexity of the aerospace industry increases, organisations are expected to accommodate these modifications and stay competitive. With the right planning, A&D companies can take advantage of the opportunity-rich market.
