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Strategies to Attract & Retain Aerospace Talent

The Interagency Aerospace Revitalization Taskforce, led by the U.S. Department of Labor, recently released the first of five annual reports to Congress, in which the report offers strategies for meeting the aerospace industry's growing talent demands in an environment where young people are neither prepared nor inclined to enter it. "America's world-leading aerospace industry is as vital today to our nation's security and prosperity as it was half a century ago when it was building the first satellites and rockets that launched us into the Space Age," says U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "This report outlines several strategies for increasing the pool of workers qualified for high skill aerospace careers and makes it clear that this will require a coordinated and sustained effort by the private and public sectors." Following a legislative request of a year ago, the taskforce spent 2007 reviewing the challenges associated with aerospace workforce development and has recommended next steps for meeting the industry's talent needs. Among the report's findings, the taskforce recognizes that establishing clear lines of communication with all parties is a critical step in building the aerospace talent pipeline. It plans to create a cyber community designed to allow users to share information on promising practices in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and training; outreach to and mentoring of students and prospective hires; and industry recruiting successes. The report also recommends streamlining the security clearance process and increasing the portability of such clearances from one job and agency to the next.