A new aviation engineering training initiative is set to launch in Hamilton, as industry projections point to a widening shortage of aircraft engineers in New Zealand that sector leaders say could constrain maintenance capacity, manufacturing and aerospace export growth.
Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) and aircraft manufacturer NZAero plan to establish what they describe as the country’s largest industry-based aviation engineering training initiative at NZAero’s Waikato manufacturing facility, amid international competition for a limited pool of skilled engineers.
Workforce projections cited in the announcement indicate New Zealand will need around 4,500 aviation engineers by 2034, up from about 3,000 today, implying a roughly 50% increase in engineering capacity over the next eight years.
Modelling prepared for the Aviation Industry Association and the former Services Workforce Development Council, Ringa Hora, estimates an existing shortfall of around 500 engineers. The modelling also suggests the gap between supply and demand is growing by an average of 7% a year, with demand forecast to rise by 2% to 3% annually compared with about 1% growth across the wider New Zealand labour force.
The modelling projects new entrants to the aviation engineering workforce will increase by about 1.4% a year, while exits rise by about 3%.
NMIT chief executive Dr Caroline Seelig said the training pipeline is not keeping pace with retirements and industry growth.
“We are not bringing people into the industry fast enough to replace those leaving, let alone provide the additional engineers we will need as aviation grows.
“At the same time, every major aviation market is competing for the same people, which means experienced engineers are becoming harder and more expensive to recruit from overseas.
“Aviation engineering is highly specialised and regulated, and it takes years to train people and build the experience needed to maintain, repair and certify aircraft. This isn’t a shortage you can solve quickly once it becomes critical.
“If we don’t increase the number coming through, we are going to see pressure on maintenance capacity, aircraft potentially spending longer out of service and aviation businesses reaching limits on how much work they can take on,” she says.
NZAero chief executive Stephen Burrows said the size of the engineering workforce required to support aviation is often underestimated.
“As a broad industry rule of thumb, four engineers are required to support each pilot and the aircraft they operate.
“The workforce we will need later this decade depends on the training decisions being made now and, for companies like NZAero, the shortage is already becoming a direct constraint on growth.
“We are expanding into international markets, but winning export orders is only part of the equation. We also need enough skilled people in New Zealand to build the aircraft and support them once they are in service.”
The Hamilton initiative will extend NMIT’s specialist aviation engineering training into the North Island. NMIT has delivered aviation engineering education for more than 20 years and is a Civil Aviation Authority-approved Part 147 training provider, with programmes traditionally concentrated in Nelson and Marlborough.
The programme is expected to operate from within NZAero’s Hamilton site, where the company designs, manufactures, maintains and modifies aircraft for domestic and international customers.
Once fully established, the initiative is expected to contribute to the training of up to 230 aviation engineering students annually across New Zealand.
Burrows said placing the programme inside an operating aircraft manufacturing business would give students direct exposure to a working aviation environment and could create a recruitment pathway.
“There is a real advantage in training people alongside an operating aircraft manufacturing business because they can see how the skills they are learning are applied in practice.
“It also gives us the opportunity to identify and develop people who could ultimately move into roles within our factory as we expand production.
“The benefit extends beyond NZAero because these are skills that are in demand across aircraft manufacturing, maintenance and the wider aviation industry.”
NZAero said it has been expanding international activity from Hamilton, including restarting production of its CT-4 Airtrainer after a 14-year pause and pursuing new aircraft sales in overseas markets.
Dr Seelig said Hamilton was chosen to improve access for North Island students while supporting a long-term workforce need, and cited lower accommodation and transport costs compared with Auckland, with access to nearby centres including Cambridge and Te Awamutu.
