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GAMA INSIGHT By Pete Bunce 58 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017 AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE TECHNOLOGY O NE OF THE BEST THINGS ABOUT OUR industr y is seeing how it at tract s bright young people, and then see- ing them flourish through the mentorship of people with a passion for aviation. The 40 young men and women featured in this AMT Next Gen Awards special issue are excellent examples. These young men and women come from all sectors of the aviation industr y and rep- resent the spectrum of career levels — from a student all the way up to a business owner — and hail from around the world. Of course, I'm par ticularly proud that a number of employees from GAMA member companies are on this year's list, including Nathan Alvar and Stephen Dodd of Cirrus Aircraft; Travis Geist, Jamie Harder, and Kasey Har wick of Duncan Aviation; and Daniel Walker of StandardAero. It's especially impor tant that our industr y work together to ensure we have a strong workforce for the future, to fill the ranks of those who engineer, manufacture, pilot, and maintain our aircraft. Thanks to studies con- ducted by Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute in 2005, 2011, and 2015, we know there is a coming shortage in the aviation field, largely due to a skills gap in the U.S. manufac- turing sector. While this is clearly not a new issue, it is an impor tant one. The good news is that many in our indus- tr y and in the education sector recognize this, and have created programs or invested in aerospace education. As AMT readers know, most who enter the aviation field as a career do so initially through general aviation. That's why GAMA and its member companies are par- ticularly concerned about this issue, and are finding ways to help solve the problem. GAMA is proud to again offer our science, technolog y, engineering and math (STEM) Aviation Design Challenge competition for U.S. high school students. Over the past five years, we've enhanced students' STEM knowledge, through aviation, at nearly 400 high schools throughout the countr y. This year, we opened registration for our 2018 competition on National Aviation Day in mid-August, and I'm excited to say that registration filled up in less than two months! Next semester, 130 schools from 34 states will compete for a chance to experience general aviation manufacturing first hand. It will be our largest competition par ticipation since we star ted the program in 2013, and 105 schools of the 130 registered have not competed in the program before. I remember the excitement I felt as a young boy flying in the skies above Wisconsin, as a high schooler learning how to slip a cub while preparing to solo, as a cadet at the U.S. Air Force Academy parachuting, flying gliders, and studying aerospace engineering, and, most vividly, as an Air Force of ficer flying fighter jets all over the world, all before the age of 40. There's something magical about aviation, which I was lucky enough to experi- ence as a young man and still never take for granted after a half-centur y of flying. These outstanding men and women know it, too, and they are our industr y's future. Congratulations to all of the winners, and to Aircraft Maintenance Technology for recog - nizing their achievements. I look for ward to seeing what they accomplish in the years to come, and the next generation of leaders they inspire to join our industr y. JOB WELL DONE: RECOGNIZING OUR INDUSTRY'S TALENT One of the best things about our industry is seeing how it attracts bright young people, and then seeing them flourish PETE BUNCE is president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), which represents more than 85 of the world's leading manufacturers of general avia- tion airplanes and rotorcraft, engines, avion- ics, components, and related services. GAMA's members also operate repair stations, FBOs, pilot and main- tenance training facilities and manage fleets of aircraft. For more info: www. gama.aero .