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THE VOICE OF AVIATION MAINTENANCE EDUCATION The Aviation Technician Education Council (ATEC) hosted its 55th anniversary conference in Atlanta, GA, April 9-12 ATEC INSIGHT By Ryan Goertzen 42 MAY 2016 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY T HE AVIATION TECHNICIAN EDUCATION COUNCIL (ATEC) recently hosted more than 150 aviation maintenance edu- cators, vendors, and employers at its annual conference in Atlanta on April 9-12, 2016. Flying into the world's busiest airport made for the perfect setting given the culmination of a very busy year for ATEC. The purpose of the ATEC annual conference is to provide profes- sional development, networking, and strategizing opportunities for technician educators and industry, and to engage attendees on the big issues. Two themes resounded at this year's conference: workforce development and FAA rulemaking, namely the Part 147 notice of proposed rulemaking issued in October 2015. As the lifeblood of our industry, it is important that technician educators are kept up to date on tech- nological advances. The first two days of the ATEC annual conference therefore focused on professional development; invited speakers were experts in accident inves- tigation, unmanned systems program development, avionics and electrical- bases systems, and certifications and solutions for in-flight connectivity. Attendees were also treated to a tour of the Delta TechOps hangar where they got an up-close look at an airline techni- cian's day-to-day, and engaged in frank con- versation with training and hiring personnel. Year after year ATEC is the recipient of incredible industry support, Delta Air Lines in particular went above and beyond, sponsoring content throughout the program. We are certainly grateful to that organization and its contribution to this year's event. Day three of the annual conference focused on more program- matic aspects including an update on council activities, briefings on FAA and Department of Education policy initiatives, and an overview of programs built to help narrow training gaps and better prepare students for careers in aviation maintenance. A recurring theme throughout the day was the recent Part 147 notice of proposed rulemaking, the regulation governing aviation mainte- PHOTOS COURTESY OF RONALD DONNER nance technician schools (AMTS). The new rule will be the biggest regulatory change AMTS have seen in 50 years. An FAA representative was therefore on hand to discuss the next steps in the rulemaking process and what industry might expect during implementation. The conference concluded with insight from industry employers on efforts to hire and retain a highly skilled workforce. The chal- lenge was clear: there are not enough qualified technicians available to satisfy industry demand. Representatives from Delta Air Lines, Lockheed Martin, and ExpressJet shared hiring plans and company strategies to meet growing demand. Several companies are facing - l v e ▲ CRYSTAL MAGUIRE, ATEC's executive director and Ryan Goertzen, chief aviation and academic officer, Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology, and current ATEC president, provide conference attendees with an update on the ATEC organization and initiatives. ◀ EDUCATORS FROM Tulsa Technology Center and Hallmark University catch up during a break between professional development sessions at the 2016 ATEC Conference. THE ATEC ANNUAL CONFERENCE is always a great place for educators to meet new people.