The Texas Space Leadership Council (TSLC)--composed of NASA/JSC, the
Clear Lake
Economic Development Foundation, United Space Alliance, and NASA contractors
Boeing,
Raytheon and Lockheed Martin--has been experiencing a shortage of qualified
engineers.
This shortage has resulted in a number of key positions going unfilled
and an overworked
staff which in turn results in a loss of competitiveness in the aerospace
industry due to low
productivity, insufficient product and delays. This needs assessment
was requested by the
TSLC to assess the causes for this shortage and to make recommendations
on how to attract
and retain more and better-qualified workers. The specific problem
to be addressed is the
declining number of entry-level engineers in the aerospace industry
as measured by human
resources hiring records.
This assessment determined the optimal number of incoming engineers
based on current
and projected employment needs versus the actual number of incoming
engineers gathered
from such sources as the National Science Foundation, the National
Bureau of Labor
Statistics, Texas Workforce Commission. Additional data were gathered
through interviews
with representatives of the local space industry such as the Clear
Lake Economic
Development Resources Department and the NASA/JSC Human Resources department.
Possible causes and recommended solutions were also obtained through
these interviews
and facilitating groups.
This assessment found that TSLC and NASA are suffering from the same
shortage of
qualified workers that is currently affecting organizations in all
high-tech fields. The number
of available jobs in these fields is growing far faster than the number
of college students pursuing degrees in these same fields. In addition,
other private organizations are better
able to compensate their workers and are therefore better able to attract
and retain
well-qualified engineers than NASA and its contractors. Our recommendations
include a
combination of interventions ranging from better compensation to the
promotion of science
and the space program in order to encourage more American school children
to choose
science and engineering as a career.