Urgent need to address shortage of aeronautical technicians in Mexico: COMEA

Mexico must address the current shortage of aeronautical technicians due to the fact that these specialists are being recruited by companies in the United States and Canada, said Federico Perez Fuentes, president of the Mexican Council for Aerospace Education (COMEA).

“There is a great need for aeronautical technicians. In the airlines there is already a great need for maintenance technicians and even more so now that these technicians are being taken to the United States or Canada, they are coming all the way here for them.

“There is a need and the need for technicians in aircraft maintenance, engines, components, repairs, is something that is very latent. Another very large MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Facility) is about to arrive in Queretaro from Viva,” explained Perez Fuentes during his participation in a webinar promoted by the Mexican Federation of the Aerospace Industry (FEMIA).

The COMEA executive also said that there is a need to train specialists who know how to program both aircraft systems as well as machining companies in charge of producing parts.

“We need maintenance engineers who know about aircraft programming, their different programs. Safran is growing in Querétaro in the area of engines; it is servicing CFM56 engines, but it will also be servicing new generation engines,” he said.

Another of the needs to be addressed within the Mexican industry is the training of specialists in welding, thermal materials and chemicals.

Pérez Fuentes said that FEMIA's training commission is already working to have a complete matrix of profiles, to be able to update the curricula and generate the necessary courses for the sector.

During his presentation, the director of COMEA shared that in Mexico the educational coverage in aeronautics offers 30 institutions distributed in 14 States, 29 programs and five levels (high school, specialized technical, university technician, engineering and postgraduate).