Aircraft Technician Apprenticeship - Darby O'Neil (left) and Stan Ryakhovskiy practice spikes as student instructor John Kraft looks on. Aviation Technical Services, which repairs and overhauls passenger aircraft for major airlines, offers an 18-month apprenticeship during which participants are paid to become aircraft mechanics. (Andy Bronson/The Herald)
The two men are longtime employees of Aviation Technical Services, one of the largest aircraft repair and maintenance companies in North America and the second largest aircraft employer in Snohomish County.
Aircraft Technician Apprenticeship
"This is my swan song," said Christian, whose aviation career spans three decades and includes stints as an airplane mechanic and quality control manager at the Everett-based repair company.
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The company's 18-month apprenticeship program, a full-time position with benefits, prepares graduates to become federally certified aircraft mechanics.
ATS repairs, modifies and refurbishes aircraft for military and commercial customers, including Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines and FedEx. Its massive 221,000-square-foot maintenance hangar at Paine Field can accommodate up to 14 Boeing 737-sized aircraft.
Nearly 90 people have graduated from the "mechanical pool" and are now working at the company's Everett facility, said Seth Jacobsen, senior manager of practice and career development at ATS.
"After three years, it's good to see some of the people you trained out there on the floor," Christian said.
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Michael Peppard (center) works with a drill while practical instructor Dave Christian (left) explains to observers how to remove spikes at Aviation Technical Services in Everett. (Andy Bronson/The Herald)
The Covid-19 crisis, which caused flight cancellations, forced ATS to lay off hundreds of workers at facilities in Everett, Moses Lake, Kansas City, Missouri and the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
It was either go into survival mode or turn off the lights, says Paul Dolan, CEO of ATS.
But with air travelers on the move again, ATS is once again hiring experienced workers and interns. About 10 new interns are added every month.
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Even in the best of times, recruiting, hiring and keeping aircraft mechanics on the payroll is a challenge.
Aviation is historically a volatile industry; The 9/11 attacks, the 2008 recession and now the Covid-19 pandemic underscore this fact.
Fearful of the economic downturn, some aircraft mechanics who were laid off or laid off found work in other industries, Dolan said. At this point, "they'll probably never come back."
"Retention is extremely important to us," Dolan said. Honestly, it determines whether we have a future or not."
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The day for veteran aircraft mechanics is approaching when they can put down their tools. One-third of the current aircraft repair workforce is at or near retirement age, according to management consulting firm Oliver Wyman.
Juan Marquez, 28, drove 1,500 miles this summer to participate in the ATS internship program. Two years ago, he was hired by a New Mexico company to repair components for small airplanes. There he caught the flying bug and gained an appreciation for aircraft mechanics and design.
Hands-on instructor Dave Christian goes through the proper paperwork with a class of students at Aviation Technical Services in Everett. (Andy Bronson/The Herald)
"I was lost before I got that job," said Marquez, who previously worked in construction. I started to really like the job and wanted to move on.
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He found the ATS program through an internet search and applied. Interviews with ATS officials were conducted via video chat. "I actually didn't see the facility until I got here," Marquez said.
On a recent afternoon, Marquez sat with eight other students in an ATS class in a World War II hangar at Paine Field. After two weeks of classroom instruction, each student will be assigned to a hangar crew and paired with a lead mechanic, responsible "for keeping an eye on them," Jacobsen said.
Their first duties are usually simple tasks, such as removing seats and overhead bins from an aircraft so it can be inspected or refurbished. As they progress through the 18-month program, the scope and detail of their duties expand, Jacobsen said.
ATS declined to release salary information for mechanics and apprentices, but according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary for aircraft mechanics and technicians is about $67,000. ZipRecruiter, an online recruiting agency, reports that aircraft mechanics earn an average of $51,000 or more per year.
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Five years ago, Matt Yerbic, the company's former CEO, pushed ATS to develop its own academy, Jacobsen said. Yerbic stepped down in June after 14 years to lead the company's board.
They began by asking everyone—top managers, supervisors, and flight mechanics: "What does an uneducated, unskilled person need to know to become a flight mechanic?" Jacobsen said.
The answers varied, but almost all agreed on three things: good attendance, good communication skills and a commitment to safety.
A student practices wire twisting with pliers during a class at Aviation Technical Services in Everett. (Andy Bronson/The Herald)
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Before the program debuted, entry-level employees received basic training and were assigned their duties. Fatigue was high, Jacobsen said.
"The hangar is like an ocean. It's a huge environment with several hundred mechanics—it's a lot to take in," says Jacobsen. "We lost a lot of people."
Today, students are paired with a mechanic. Their on-the-job training is guided by a specific curriculum. The program's instructors check in with "every student, every week" to track their progress, Jacobsen said.
After completing the program, they automatically become mechanics and receive a pay raise. Graduates are eligible to obtain aircraft mechanic certification through the Federal Aviation Administration, another step. ATS pays FAA exam fees.
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About a third of the nation's 26,000 apprenticeship programs are run solely by employers like ATS, according to the US. Department of Labor.
Over the past decade, across all American industries, the number of apprentices has skyrocketed. In 2020, there were 636,000 apprentices, up from 388,000 in 2010, a 64% increase, according to the Labor Department.
Washington is home to 229 apprenticeship programs, including 41 programs that debuted in 2020. In total, they enrolled 4,500 new apprentices last year.
Mariner High School graduate Stan Ryakhovskiy, 18, learned about the ATS program when he enrolled in an aviation class at the Sno-Isle TECH Skills Center during his junior year. "I like working with my hands," said Ryakhovskiy, a backyard mechanic who has been fixing cars and motorcycles since he was a teenager.
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Carsen Giaudrone, 18, also arrived in the program via the Sno-Isle pipeline. "I've wanted to work on airplanes since I took an airplane manufacturing class," Giaudrone said. "My instructor advised me to apply here," said Giaudrone, eager to "get on the floor as soon as possible."
But ATS — and the airline industry as a whole — has yet to find a reliable applicant pipeline for as many women or people of color as it would like, Jacobsen said.
Women make up only 12 percent of aerospace and engineering workers and only 10 percent of aircraft mechanics are people of color, according to a 2020 study by students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
The company changed its recruitment process and placed more emphasis on applicants with experience in customer service or communication, so-called soft skills.
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The change means a retail clerk, bartender or hairdresser with an interest in aviation might be a good fit for the apprenticeship program, Jacobsen said.
One benefit they've already seen: Recruiting more applicants with soft skills has lowered the program's attrition rate from 30% to 15%, Jacobsen said.
Aircraft repair and necessary documentation is required. For new employees and interns who are used to fighting, the aircraft repair business may not be a good fit.
"This is a highly regulated industry that requires precision," said instructor Christian. "Everything you touch on an airplane, every nut and bolt has a piece of paper that tells you how to install or remove it," Christian said.
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Others cannot meet the company's standards. "You can be someone with great technical skills, but if you don't show up on time, that's a problem," Jacobsen said.
After three years, the practice academy is on a steady trajectory, Jacobsen said. "It took time to get here. It's been a long, expensive, labor-intensive process," he says.
"I have a full-time job. I get paid," the 18-year-old said. "You train for 18 months to two years to become an airplane mechanic and you don't miss school."
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