3 ways aerospace & defense companies can build sustainable, agile workforces.
Facing strong global demand, the aerospace and defense (A&D) sector must transform its talent strategies to combat talent scarcity. The urgent need for AI and digital skills requires new approaches to workforce planning. Read how A&D employers are building a sustainable workforce by enhancing human potential with AI, embracing a skills-based hiring model, and considering alternate arrangements like freelance and contingent work.
Facing strong global demand and record order backlogs, the aerospace and defense (A&D) industry is experiencing immense growth, while the use of AI promises to transform maintenance and manufacturing processes and create more efficiencies. Despite increasing profits and business that shows no signs of slowing down, the sector is not without its challenges. Factors like trade disputes, tariffs, geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions affect daily operations for A&D companies.
Yet, another growing challenge for employers in the sector lies in their talent strategies, from finding talent with the latest AI and digital skills they need to drive key priorities forward, to developing talent to fill in gaps and assume the roles that are otherwise difficult to hire. They also must maintain engagement in what can be a high-stress industry, while proactively protecting the business from the “brain drain” that occurs as experienced employees retire.
With tremendous opportunity for growth in the face of constant change, how can A&D companies enhance their talent strategies to ensure they have the right people with the necessary skills to drive a successful future?
a sector driven by innovation
To understand the current state of the A&D sector, Randstad Enterprise’s talent intelligence team conducted an extensive analysis of the sector, based on third-party research firms and other industry data. Along with key findings about the sector from Randstad’s Workmonitor research, a global survey of more than 26,000 workers and 1,225 employers, the challenges and opportunities facing A&D employers become clear.
With the sector’s rapid expansion into autonomous systems, and spending on AI expected to reach $5.8 billion by 2029, there is an urgent need to hire talent with high-level analytical and technological literacy. At the same time, growing demand for software and electronics innovation also necessitates strategic workforce upskilling and development in digital technologies.
The need to acquire or upskill talent with AI and digital skills is pressing; without the right people to drive AI innovation, it will be harder to stay competitive and agile. Research shows that 65% of A&D AI initiatives currently remain stalled or in proof-of-concept phases. Yet, employers in the sector aren’t just competing against each other for the best and brightest talent; they’re also competing with the tech sector and employers across all industries that are expanding their AI capabilities, further endangering their ability to find qualified talent.
3 strategies to overcome talent scarcity
As A&D employers strive to build and maintain the teams they need to address current challenges and ensure a successful future, there are several strategies to help deliver on these imperatives. From rethinking jobs and roles based on how people and AI can work together, to focusing on people’s inherent skills and meeting the need for different work arrangements, consider these tips to help find and develop the talent you need.
1. enhance human potential with AI
The use of AI and automation have already brought significant change to the way work in the A&D sector is done. The Workmonitor research shows that 85% of sector employers believe that more than half of their workforce’s tasks will be made more effective by AI in the next two years. While the growing use of AI can make some job tasks obsolete, it has, in turn, created new roles and changed existing roles that now require new skills and know-how. And as people are increasingly expected to understand AI and work alongside it, ensuring the workforce is well versed in AI has become essential.
To foster successful collaboration with AI, it’s critical to understand which tasks can be performed more accurately and efficiently by AI, and those tasks for which human ingenuity, problem-solving and creativity are better. Then determine how employees can utilize AI in a way that automates repetitive tasks, while giving them more time to focus on those that require their uniquely human skills.
This is particularly illustrated as more companies focus on accelerating factory output to clear their record backlogs. For example, one leader in the sector overcame talent shortages and reduced the time it takes to train talent to be master inspectors for its engine repair shops by using AI to train entry-level staff. This rapid, AI-driven upskilling led its entry-level talent to perform expert-level quality checks of engine parts much faster, resulting in decreased engine repair turnaround times.
Overall, the potential for AI augmentation is vast, with a PwC study showing that 57% of A&D executives say their companies use AI-enhanced design and engineering to transform workflows — a rate 16 points above the cross-industry average.
2. recognize the value of the skills-based approach
As employers in the A&D sector seek to hire talent skilled in AI, finding such individuals, particularly with a background in the field, can be challenging. And with greater competition among employers in all sectors for talent versed in AI and other digital skills, finding new ways to connect with right-fit talent is crucial.
While clearances and certifications are necessary for many positions within the sector, consider new ways to attract talent for supporting roles when such credentials aren’t required. Instead of exclusively trying to hire candidates with prior experience in the A&D sector, candidates should be considered based on their skills or capacity to learn.
According to the Workmonitor research, 90% of A&D employers say they value skills and experience over formal qualifications when hiring talent, compared to 87% of employers across all sectors, showing that the industry largely understands that value of hiring for skills over formal expertise.
Hiring talent who show the potential to learn and grow is a key part of the skills-based approach, while also being essential to fuel internal mobility and leadership pipeline. That’s why upskilling legacy talent is vital to ongoing success and agility, especially since 25% of the A&D workforce is aged 56 and up, and only 7% of employees are under the age of 25. As these highly experienced employees retire and leave the workforce, companies face the risk of losing a significant amount of institutional expertise, further driving the need to fill these talent gaps faster.
3. consider alternate arrangements and talent pools
Given the need to acquire and develop talent in the face of growing scarcity, another way to unlock access to more candidates is to consider different types of work arrangements and new talent pools. As workers increasingly want more flexibility and autonomy in how they work, meeting talent where they are can help attract more candidates.
This is highlighted by the Workmonitor research; only 26% of the workforce in the A&D sector prefer a single full-time job working arrangement.
Meanwhile, others prefer to have a full-time role plus a side hustle or additional hours (16%), freelancing or gig work (13%), self-employment (10%), one part-time role (9%) or a part-time role with a side hustle (9%). In fact, the 13% of talent who prefer freelancing or gig work is among the highest of all sectors. So, when filling key gaps, consider how contractors and other talent seeking alternatives to the traditional full-time role can be utilized.
The A&D sector also faces a unique challenge in finding qualified talent — the security clearances needed for many roles. With an average of 183 days for an individual to achieve top secret clearance, there is a significant loss of productivity during this time. To help close the gap, consider prioritizing active-clearance teams or hiring independent contractors who have already achieved their clearances.
securing a successful future
Faced with surging demand and tremendous opportunity, yet ongoing talent scarcity, the A&D sector is at a turning point. To ensure an agile and sustainable workforce, employers in the sector must rethink their approach to talent: from hiring the right people to building an environment in which they receive the right tools and development to drive the business forward.
The best strategy is one focused on ensuring AI is used in a way to augment the capabilities of your teams, while allowing them to focus on critical activities. And with a skills-based approach, you can mobilize internal talent and hire new talent who show the potential to learn and grow and become the next generation of leaders. And by considering alternate work arrangements and new sources of talent, you can further connect with the people you need in an increasingly competitive environment.
Combined, these three strategies will help to overcome the challenges in today’s talent landscape, and ensure you have the team to keep up with demand, deliver on priorities and secure a successful future.