2024 “Take Flight Forum” highlights growth in St. Louis Region’s aerospace sector

Regional employment within aerospace manufacturing in the St. Louis area grew by more than 1,800 new jobs, or 11.9 percent, over the last five years. This represents a growth rate 10-times faster than the national growth rate of only 1.1% since 2019. Those statistics were among the new numbers shared at the 3^rd Annual Take Flight Forum held on November 8 hosted by the St. Louis Regional Freightway. The data affirms that the St. Louis region continues to strengthen as an aerospace and aviation hub and underscores the importance of the bi-state effort underway to grow the talent pipeline for this vibrant ecosystem. The event brought together representatives of some of the region’s most significant aerospace manufacturing and service companies and the education institutions they are collaborating with to prepare for future growth, as well as participants in programs providing a pipeline to family sustaining careers in the growing aerospace sector.

Fueling the noteworthy growth is an estimated 49 aerospace manufacturing businesses that combined account for more than 17,700 employees who make an average annual salary of $137,848. More than 321,000 additional individuals are also employed in industries secondary, tertiary or supportive to aerospace manufacturing in the region, further illustrating the vital role of this ecosystem. The growth trend is expected to continue across the aerospace manufacturing and service sectors as they are in the process of adding nearly 1,000 new jobs in the St. Louis region over the next few years due to expansions underway by Boeing, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. and West Star Aviation.

“The St. Louis region’s aerospace and aviation sector is in a period of tremendous expansion, as an estimated $5 billion is invested in recently completed projects and those to be delivered over the next five to 10 years,” said Mary Lamie, Executive Vice President of Multimodal Enterprises for Bi-State Development and head of the St. Louis Regional Freightway. “Beyond the jobs being added to help build aircraft and their components and handle maintenance and repairs, we will see demand growing for construction workers to deliver the new facilities, airport operations personnel, and the many positions in other industries that will be impacted by the ripple effects of this growth.”

Anthony Ray, Vice President and General Manager, St. Louis Completions at Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., told the audience it is an exciting time for Gulfstream’s operations at St. Louis Downtown Airport in St. Clair County, Illinois, where the company is further expanding its completions and outfitting services at its maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility.

“I'm pleased to announce that the $28.5 million expansion investment we announced last year is well on its way to being completed in the first half of 2025. It’s truly exciting to see the new facility additions and enhancements,” said Ray. “We're also over halfway through hiring the 200 new employees that we announced as part of this expansion.” Ray added that, in October alone, they onboarded almost 30 new employees locally to fill positions ranging from avionics employees, interior installers, painters, upholstery technicians, cabinet makers and various other technical positions that are key to Gulfstream’s growth at St. Louis Downtown Airport. “Our recruiting efforts are going phenomenally well,” said Ray. “This region continues to impress us with its available talent.”

Gulfstream is engaged in a variety of initiatives that help contribute to their successful recruiting efforts. Among those is a youth apprenticeship program in partnership with Cahokia High School, Belleville School District and the Center for Academic and Vocational Excellence. Through this work-based learning program, students have the chance to work at Gulfstream and receive hands-on industry experience. Last year Gulfstream had 12 apprentices participate and all were offered full-time jobs upon graduation. Ray expects to have more than 20 apprentices this year. Additionally, Gulfstream launched its Student Leadership Program in St. Louis which welcomed 60 high school sophomores in its first year. This multifold program supports career exploration and is designed to provide local high school students with the skills they need to explore opportunities beyond the classroom. Ray also noted Gulfstream’s Build A Box program which helps students learn how to build cabinetry and gain wiring, avionics, and other basic aircraft manufacturing skills.

Brian Bauwens, General Manager at West Star Aviation, discussed the recently completed $20 million expansion that was the catalyst for the launch of the West Star Aviation Academy in January 2023 to build the workforce needed to keep up with the growth. Interest has been high, with several hundred individuals applying for the first spots. Bauwens said they narrowed the initial applicant pool down to approximately 100, before starting the interview process to select about 30 individuals who were offered the opportunity to join the Academy. That process includes a tour of the facility and various tests, including a hands-on test to understand what candidates can do and a competency test.

“We've dedicated both a hangar and a classroom environment for this program and we're partnered with Southwestern Illinois College on the classroom role. Under their 147, they do all the instruction for us,” said Bauwens. “Students will be in that program for about seven and a half months. Six and a half months of that is worked with SWIC. One month is worked with West Star Aviation with our in-house trainer learning what we do. We call that the West Star Way training.”

West Star has donated a plane for use in training the students, so they get to go through the basics that they are going to need when they hit the shop floor. Students learn how to do the proper sign offs based on Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations.

“We assign mentors to each of the students, and when SWIC isn't in session, we’ll take those students off to the floor and they get to spend the day experiencing what's going on, how to do things, where you get the parts, things of that nature,” said Bauwens. “So, when they come into the workforce, it's not just like a new hire right off the street.”

While the Academy really tailors to the mechanic side of the industry, preparing students to secure the airframe license, Bauwens highlighted the many other positions also available, from painting the airplane, building cabinets, recovering or upholstering seats and side panels and cutting carpet to the avionics install. The West Star Aviation Academy graduated 25 technicians for the first time this past summer and the second cohort is now about 10 weeks into the program.

Details about the Boeing Pre-Employment Training Program, which was launched in 2007 to help Boeing create a sustainable pipeline to replace retiring employees, were shared by panelist Sean Guess, District Director, Workforce Solutions Group for St. Louis Community College. Guess explained that Boeing and St. Louis Community College came to the table to put together a program that didn't contain Boeing's proprietary information, but just a general skill set that the company needed. The program has two different tracks: the sheet metal assembly track, and the composite mechanic track.

“This training is 85% hands on, so the students actually are physically doing things that they will do on the shop floor if they get hired by Boeing,” Guess said. “When they complete the program, they're guaranteed an interview with Boeing. And when that happens the individuals basically are coming into a trade where they're making $21 an hour.”

Guess added that Boeing provides new hires with a 65 cent raise every January and July plus additional bonuses. They also get great benefits. Once an individual has been employed at Boeing for 30 days, they're eligible to apply for tuition reimbursement should they desire to go back to college for further education. To enter the program, applicants must be at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma or equivalent, and be able to pass a security clearance should they be hired by Boeing.

“Since the start of the program, we've had over 1,400 individuals become Boeing employees,” Guess said. “Eighty percent of the individuals that take the Boeing Pre-Employment program end up getting picked up by Boeing. But what about the other 20%? Well, they've acquired some great skill sets that are transferrable. And so those individuals are usually picked up by some of Boeing’s subcontractors and other aerospace manufacturers in the area.”

Asher Gunn is a current student in the Boeing Pre-Employment Training Program. With a preexisting interest in manufacturing, he said several things drew him to the program.

"I thought it would be a great point of entry into the manufacturing world and a way to fulfill my interest in hands-on work. It is taught by experienced Boeing employees. Some have 30 years of experience. It's invaluable to be around people like that,” said Gunn. “Additionally, it's free of charge. Boeing is financing it, and the intention is that students who pass the program will be prepared to enter Boeing, which I think is also just great."

Gunn said he’s currently four weeks into the program and has already received comprehensive in-depth lectures on soft skills as well as aircraft terminology, how to read blueprints and, most importantly, aircraft sheet metal assembly and fastening procedures.

“This also requires knowledge of stress and strain on the aircraft and how our work has consequences to the aircraft's structural integrity,” said Gunn. “So, it really puts a lot of importance on us doing our job very well.”

Gunn is also pursuing a degree in computer engineering and plans to utilize the guaranteed interview with Boeing upon completion of the program, with the hope he can continue to further his interest in manufacturing and identify ways computer technologies can be leveraged to improve the efficiency and capabilities of manufacturing and assembly workforces.

David Maag, a recent graduate of West Star Aviation Academy, recently started as an Aircraft Maintenance Technician I at West Star Aviation. He had some experience working on helicopters with the Illinois Army National Guard before joining the Academy to learn how to be become a mechanic and receive his airframe license. Maag said he particularly appreciated that participating students were paid the entire time while going to school. He also was impressed with the depth of instruction, which included classes like physics and mathematics, as well as being taught about the different materials that make up an aircraft, flight controls, environmental and electrical systems and the landing gear. He said the program included great opportunities to gain a lot of hands-on experience on the Falcon 10, and being able to connect what was learned in class to a physical aircraft was helpful for students’ success.

“I have the privilege of working on multimillion dollar aircraft every day. With my airframe license, I can work across the entire airframe. Some days I might spend hours removing panels to access areas where we need to inspect. Or other days I might be removing corrosion or greasing flight controls. Whatever the task I might be doing, the main focus is to maintain the aircraft, keep it airworthy, and to keep it in top condition,” said Maag. “For those considering starting a career as an airframe mechanic, I would highly recommend seeking a program or a school like this academy. It allows you to apply everything you learn in school directly to your job, which will be waiting for you upon graduation.”

Lamie also provided updates on the latest investments and milestones at the region’s five busiest airports, including St. Louis Lambert International Airport and Spirit of St. Louis Airport in eastern Missouri, and three southwestern Illinois airports -- St. Louis Downtown Airport, MidAmerica St. Louis Airport and St. Louis Regional Airport. All the airports continue to invest in additional improvements to their facilities, while St. Louis Lambert International Airport recently cleared a major hurdle for the plan to consolidate the airport's two passenger terminals into one new terminal with the FAA’s determination that the planned $2.8 billion revamp will have no significant environmental impact.

“This year’s Take Flight Forum provided great insight on the tremendous career opportunities available in this vibrant, regional ecosystem, where the concentration of aerospace manufacturing jobs is nearly four times the national average, a major competitive advantage,” said Lamie. “That advantage is augmented by the fact that the aerospace manufacturing workers in the St. Louis region are nearly 5% more productive. There’s no question this is a great location for aerospace companies to grow and for individuals to embark on life changing careers in this ecosystem.”