CHARLOTTE, N.C. —  Many businesses continue to deal with worker shortages nationwide. 

One of the careers experiencing major vacancies is aircraft mechanics. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 13,100 openings are projected each year for aircraft mechanics and similar fields over the next decade.

One reason for the shortage is more workers retiring. 

A Charlotte school, the Aviation Institute of Maintenance, is preparing students to enter these fields in hopes of alleviating the shortages. 

Alex Diaz, the campus executive director, takes pride in seeing graduates move on to aviation careers. 

“The demand is astronomical,” Diaz said. “Right now, Boeing has a study [with projection needs] and the numbers from 2022 say we will need an additional 130,000 aviation maintenance technicians in North America alone over the next 20 years.” 

Diaz says the data doesn’t take into account the amount of people transitioning into retirement. 

“There is a large number in the industry that is over the age of 50 that will be retiring over the next 10-15 years as well, which will drive that demand a lot higher,” he said. 

The school is helping to fill roles, including aviation maintenance by providing students the skills they’ll need to launch into aviation careers. 

Diaz says these vacancies are a big deal because jobs like aircraft mechanics are critical to keeping operations and activities running smoothly.  

“The amount aviation actually does touch our lives we [may not even] realize,” Diaz said. “A shortage there does impact on-time arrivals, it impacts costs. Hoping we can be a part of solving that problem and getting more people in the industry so we don’t have those huge shortages in the future.”