Sri Kumar is president of the firm of infrastructure and aviation consulting based on Tennessee, Connico. Opinions are typical of the author.
Recent decisions to climb the affirmative action and Infrastructure disadvantaged business programs They already start leaning the pitch far from small companies in aviation and transport.
For decades, these programs through the United States Department of Transport have opened doors for highly competent women’s women, minority and veterans. Now, as the effects of these drop -down, we have a greater and worrying challenge: how can we assure us that a strong and diverse pipeline of talent at a time when demand for projects and expertise has never been higher?
Although there is a lot of space for discussion on the politics of these programs, I would like to focus on a broader and perhaps more urgent message: the reduction in infrastructure competition sends chills to the spine because we live in a time of all hands in this industry.
Sri Kumar
Permission granted by Connico
We are in the air space without charge right now. At the COVID-19 pandemic comeback, we were not sure what would be the rebound for the economy and for aviation. The real course has passed almost all the projections. Airports are booming, airlines prosper, and demand for travel has reached new statistical highest. Airlines continue to add new routes and passengers continue to reserve tickets. Thus, airports have continued to expand their footprints and services.
Maybe the value of two people who are face to face cannot be replaced by zoom, after all? We do not see the slowdown in the projects, the slowdown of funding and the slowdown of the demand.
However, there is still a shortage of qualified and knowledgeable talents in something as niche as aviation. As a result, almost all companies (whether you admit it or not) see more work at the door than they can follow.
To deal with this massive company of the creation of the country’s infrastructure, we need all the qualified people we can obtain. We need people who love their engineering or consultation jobs in other industries to make their knowledge of airports and infrastructure. We need people who have never considered an aviation career to join our ranks. We need students schools that do not offer aviation curriculum to contribute their curiosity and energy to the industry. We need anyone who can be taught to do our job (and exceptionally) designing terminals, driving bags, flying aircraft, runways and running airports.
Engineers build our planet. Clean water, moon rockets, Pac-man, NFL Stadiums, Frank Sinatra Records, all around us was designed and built by someone. Increasingly, these things are designed by a team of people.
Complexity requires diversity of thought
In the past days, a plane could be built twice from Ohio in its bicycle store. Today, aircraft design, prototype, tests, programming, manufacturing and certification take a team of thousands, with each person who makes a specific skill to which they have been formed. As the world becomes more complex, our projects become more complex and we need more people with more ideas and more solutions to the table to do things.
If diversity programs help solve this problem, it is debate. The reality not expressed of this challenge, of course, is that fostering or even requires a fair game does not reduce the success of those that would otherwise gain easily. Golf does not give the new golfers handicaps to destroy the possibilities of professional golfers. It does so to make the field more competitive, so that the most competent players move forward. These programs work in the same way.
So what types of programs or efforts can we find just and effective to help bring the best talent in our field as we approach complex projects? What can we do to attract more people in this line of work, which is rewarding not only on money to win, but also on the permanent impact we make on humanity?
Whether these specific programs adhere to or not, we need initiatives to attract more people in the field of technical problem solving. We need more innovation. We need more teammates, not only in aviation, but also in all transport and infrastructure. We need more ways to help more people sit on the table so they can start working.
