Aviation growth means continued jobs in Alabama

Addressing military personnel and members of the Fort Rucker-Wiregrass Chapter of the Association of the United States Army, Tuscon Roberts, dean and special assistant to the president for aviation and workforce development at the Alabama Aviation Center in Ozark, said aviation has a strong presence in Alabama and 98 percent of the aerospace companies in the state are expected to add more jobs by the end of the year.

“Automobiles have gotten all the buzz and all the hype and all the sizzle, but little by little, every year, aviation has grown and grown and grown,” he said.

Roberts was the guest speaker at AUSA’s quarterly breakfast at the First United Methodist Church of Ozark on Aug. 16.

Providing the audience with a lot of statistics, Roberts said the various training programs at the college, which is a unit of Enterprise State Community College, are allowing people from all walks of life to go to college and get a well-paying job.

Even with increased unemployment rates, aviation jobs are continuing to grow and 98 percent of the aviation jobs are full-time positions, he said.

“We are a state that’s very competitive,” Roberts said, noting that Alabama is among the six largest aviation communities in the United States. The other aviation hubs include Boca Raton, Fla.; Dallas, Texas; Hartford, Conn.; Seattle, Wash.; and Wichita, Kan.

Roberts said experienced people who have been working in the aviation industry for a long time currently hold most of the aviation jobs. As they prepare for retirement, one of the goals of the Alabama Aviation Center in Ozark is to prepare students to take over these jobs.

Looking toward the future, Robert said he believes unmanned aircraft will be the future of aviation and he wants to begin preparing his students now for what is to come.

“This program is an uplifting program,” he concluded. “We have a system out there that if you get in and graduate, you’ll get a good job.”