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www.AviationPros.com 25 'seat-of-the-pants' navigation by employ- ers sifting through innumerable talent markets across the country. Industry leaders are worried. • "The key to any successful company is its workforce. The aviation sector is no different. Increasingly, however, our member companies find it harder to attract and retain the talent pool necessary to maintain and grow aero- space leadership. To maintain com- petitiveness, we need a workforce that is ready and available in areas where our manufacturers are locat- ed." — Peter Bunce, CEO, General Aviation Manufacturers Association. • "Even when the biggest companies and OEMs manage to bring talent into their own organisation, they worry about the talent their subcontractors and sup- pliers can source. A shortage of tal- ent can make these companies weak links in the production chain when major OEMs increase their output." — Industry Analysts, Alix Partners, LLP • "Eighty-six percent of Aeronautical Repair Station Association members reported having difficulty searching for qualified workers, and 26 percent said the search was "very difficult." — Aviation Institute of Maintenance Among the many motivations to upgrade the industry's approaches to talent man- agement is the projected growth in new hires. It's literally a worldwide challenge. NAVIGATING THE TALENT MARKET: AN AVIATION TALENT SUPPLY CHAIN In the face of these challenges, organi- zations are leaning in to help. One, the National Center for Aviation Training (NCAT) in Wichita, KS, is testing a plan intended to help employers source reliable talent efficiently. Managed by the Wichita Area Technical College (WATC), the center is also home to the National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR). The goal is to create an aviation indus- try talent supply chain organization based at NCAT. The plan's origins began with research into the demand for talent support services. Intriguing questions emerged. Could NCAT serve regional and national needs? Could educational institu- tions and certification providers actually work as a supply chain to provide value- added programs and services to employ- ers? How could supply chain management practices help solve talent shortages? For answers, NCAT executives surveyed industry leaders in late 2015 and early 2016 to discuss their talent management priorities. Topping the list was a frequent- ly voiced concern that employers have limited resources to navigate the educa- tional system. Many expressed concern over an inability to confirm if what is taught is what they need their job can- didates to learn in order to perform well. Almost all the respondents called for better ways to source talent from colleges and universities from multiple markets. Armed with this insight, NCAT's talent sup- ply chain plan rests on four goals: • Establish NCAT as a third-party talent provider organization which links the best aviation education and certification programs nationally into a talent supply chain. • Create teams of institutions to train and deliver job-ready candidates to employers, based on competency spec- ifications set by the employers. • Provide contracted advisory servic- es to employers on talent management methods and tools. NCAT