Workforce Preparedness, Public-Private Collaboration, and The Emergence of Drone Technology Central Themes of the Aerium Summit
350-plus attendees hear from leaders about next steps for replenishing industry talent
June 2, 2023 (Johnstown, PA.) – Aerium wrapped up its three-day Summit on Thursday, June 1st with a groundbreaking ceremony for the Mid-Atlantic Opportunity Park. In all, the conference and trade show attracted over 350 attendees, who participated in sessions run by industry, government, and education leaders. Throughout the conference, three main themes surfaced: workforce preparedness; the needed public-private collaboration to ensure success; and the emergence of drone technology as a major pillar in aviation.
Patrick J. Murphy, Congressman and former Undersecretary of the Army, kicked off the final day by reminding the crowd of the importance of replenishing the aviation and aerospace workforce. “When you look at Pennsylvania, and why this summit is so important, these investments are critically important for the future of our country. This is absolutely, positively a national security issue.”
Murphy continued, “And that's why, when you look at workforce development, the partnership that Larry Nulton and Senator Langerholc have done with Saint Francis is unprecedented. We need to model that across this country, and make sure the next generation of Americans gets out there in STEM.”
Gabe Monzo, President of The Aviation Council of Pennsylvania, further emphasized the importance of education. “Industry workforce concerns have underscored the importance of nurturing younger members of the aviation community, an experience that is often greatly overlooked and undervalued. Our educators hold the passport to progress in aviation.”
Glenn Ponas, Director, High School Outreach for the AOPA Foundation, explained why using platforms like the Aerium Summit are so important to get the word out about opportunities in aviation. “With aviation fully 70 to 80 percent of the jobs do not necessarily require a four-year degree. And a lot of students really don't have any idea that those jobs even exist. So one of the first things that we have to be able to do is show them that those jobs exist and that they can access them and that they can prepare for them.”
Steven D. Sabold, Vice President of Operations, Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics provided comment on what he has witnessed recently among aviation stakeholders. “Throughout my 17-year career with PIA, I have never seen as much drive from the private sector and support from the government in helping build awareness for skilled trade education. The growing partnerships between aviation industry leaders and education has been a catalyst to helping build awareness of the critical demand that exists in aviation, especially for aviation technicians.”
Many of the exhibitors and presenters at the conference provided a glimpse into the future by demonstrating the potential real-world application of drones in our society.
“I’m excited because drones are now being taken seriously as a form of aviation," said Dr. John Duesler, President of the Pennsylvania Drone Association. In fact, they are already playing a part in agriculture, construction, medicine, insurance, emergency response and delivery services. We think that aviation as a whole and drones specifically offer a great degree of hope that the students have a future. They have a skill that's really cool, and they're going to make some good money flying drones or maintaining drones or doing flight planning with drones."
Representative James Rigby further commented, “Being on the House Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee, I’m really happy this is happening in my backyard. We need the next generation of Life-Flight pilots, and we need the next generation of technicians who will keep those helicopters in prime shape. There’s also a lot of thought with regard to using drones to deliver life-saving medicines.”
Art Martynuska, Cambria County EMA executive director, commented on one of the most fundamental differences that drones can make, by comparing the average response times of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to a traditional ambulance. “Drones can deliver life-saving medicines, whether it be epi-pens, Narcan, insulin, or AEDs. Anything that is small enough can be delivered with UAV, and will get there much quicker than a first responder can.”
Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky spoke in the closing ceremony and reflected on the amount of partnership he observed at the conference. “I witnessed the public-private [P3] model that created the favorable conditions to move the economy forward in the region with the creation of the Mid-Atlantic Opportunity Park. This conference and the partnership that created it represents a huge victory for our region. But guess what? There's no finish line; we have a lot more to do.”
Click here for video highlights and interviews from the conference.
Aerium is a 501(c3) non-profit formed to foster collaboration among vital private and public stakeholders to address the next generation needs of the aviation and aerospace industry.
For more information on the Aerium Summit, please go to Aerium.org or contact Matt Crocco at crocco@kmwstrategies.com or 412.592.7061.