Stan SorscherSociety of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA)stans@speea.orgSeattle WA

Engineering goes with manufacturing

Engineering goes with manufacturing

• Rely on external labor market

• Externalize training costs

• Modularize production

Commodity-like Performance-driven

• Cultivate human capital

• Knowledge transfer

• Coordination

Supply-chain managementEngineering problem-solving

culture

Spectrum of industries

Hoseclamps

Running shoesLadies garments

AutosCell phonesHard drives

Motion picturesAerospace

Commodity-likePerformance-driven

• Motion picture industry • Silicon Valley

• Boeing 777 and 787 airplanes

Is aerospace maturing?

Source: McMasters and Cummings, 2002

Make-buy diagramFor Boeing 777

Global productsGlobal products

Workforce is like walking …..Workforce is like walking …..

New hires and recallsNew hires and recalls

Much worse in computing?

AttritionAttrition

A problem of our own making ….A problem of our own making ….

Transition from education to employmentTransition from education to employment

Families make the bet of a lifetimeFamilies make the bet of a lifetime

Connect work with workers • National manufacturing strategy• High-tech immigration aligned with strategy• Internships, R&D - education to employment• Mid-career mobility, life-long learning

Official public tracking of the labor market• Employment in field of study at 1 and 5 years• Unemployment rate for new graduates• Acceptance rate for offers by employers• Survey students!

Engineering workplace culture -> business model