June 12, 2023 – San Diego – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) today released a white paper at the 2023 AIAA AVIATION Forum to advance the use of Digital Threads across the aerospace industry. The paper, “Digital Thread: Definition, Value, and Reference Model,” is a collaboration with the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the Americas Regional Steering Committee of the International Association for the Engineering Modelling, Analysis and Simulation Community (NAFEMS). The paper is available for download on the AIAA website .
A prominent theme during the 2023 AIAA AVIATION Forum, the Institute believes digital transformation is the fourth industrial revolution. “The aerospace industry needs to accelerate its adoption and realization of digital engineering to achieve the value and benefits from this technology advancement,” said AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher. Although the concept of the Digital Thread has been discussed and specific aspects of the Digital Thread are not new, this paper attempts to consolidate in one location a description representing the AIAA Digital Engineering Integration Committee’s (DEIC) position on Digital Thread. The AIAA DEIC believes the Digital Thread is central to the aerospace industry’s digital transformation.
This paper is one in a series of papers published by the AIAA DEIC. The Institute released an implementation paper in January 2023, “Digital Twin: Reference Model, Realizations & Recommendations,” also available for download on the AIAA website .
The AIAA DEIC authored this paper with approval from the AIAA Public Policy Committee. In addition, substantial contributions were made by the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) Patterns Working Group and the Digital Twin Consortium, a community of the Object Management Group (OMG).
Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
September 9, 2022 – Arlington, Va. – The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) will join the new initiative to develop a skilled technical workforce announced by Vice President Kamala Harris at today’s National Space Council meeting at NASA Johnson Space Center.
“Exploration is part of America’s DNA and space is one of the most exciting frontiers. People power these missions, so expanding the space talent pool for all types of jobs is crucial,” said AIA President and CEO Eric Fanning. “Because demand for workers is rising, the supply needs to do the same. This initiative will allow industry to share ideas that are working and test whether they can be scaled to address this growing workforce need.”
Both organizations will be a part of a new coalition committed to working together to ramp up the space industry’s capacity to meet the rising workforce demand in critical areas of manufacturing, maintenance, quality control, and testing.
“During the past few months, this industry coalition has proven its commitment to meaningfully contribute to meeting the STEM workforce needs of today and tomorrow. Engagement by the National Space Council, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Department of Labor has helped structure the possibilities and provide key accountability for success. We are thrilled to see how together we are shaping the future of aerospace,” said AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher.
To learn more about participating companies and the outcomes of today’s National Space Council meeting, click here.
AIA Media Contact: Tom Mattocks, [email protected], 336.264.5516 cell AIAA Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804.397.527
About AIA
For over 100 years, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) has been the voice of the American aerospace and defense industry. Our work as an advocate and convener is essential to shaping policy, shedding light on the industry’s impact, and empowering its future. Our CEO-level officers from across our more than 300 member companies guide these efforts, strengthening the industry’s ability to effectively support America’s national security and economy. Together, we advocate for effective federal investments, accelerated deployment of innovative technologies, policies that enhance our global competitiveness, and recruitment and retention efforts that support a capable and diverse 21st century workforce.
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
New AIA, AIAA and EY data shows lingering effects of pandemic, the Great Resignation, and employee engagement on A&D companies
October 19, 2022 – Arlington, Va. – The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) today released the 2022 Aerospace & Defense Workforce Study, conducted in collaboration with Ernst & Young LLP (EY US). This year’s survey, which includes analysis from over 30 aerospace and defense (A&D) companies representing about 850,000 employees globally, highlights the talent challenges they seek to address and benchmarks the industry’s ongoing efforts to meet workforce demand.
“The aerospace and defense industry relies on a vibrant highly skilled workforce to maintain our competitive edge. On the heels of the pandemic and the Great Resignation, the industry has had to rethink its approach to recruiting and retaining the best and the brightest,” said Eric Fanning, President and CEO of AIA. “Our annual workforce survey shows that our industry continues building on innovative strategies to navigate the talent challenges they face today and provides actionable data-driven insights to support and develop the workforce of tomorrow.”
Key findings include:
Employee retention is a growing challenge – Overall turnover across the A&D industry, amid an already tight labor market, rose to 7.1% in 2022 from 5.7% last year. Not only has inflation increased supply chain and operating costs, but it has also driven employees’ desire for wage increases. Seventy-eight percent of responding companies cited employees seeking opportunities for higher pay as a primary cause of higher attrition.
Companies are meeting employees’ wishes for more opportunity and more flexible work models – Despite operations that are not always compatible with remote work, 65% of A&D organizations reported the successful use of flexible work options for employees, such as hybrid models, four-day workweeks and staggered hours.
Demographic diversity is trending upward as industry prioritizes DEI – In 2022, the A&D industry saw incremental improvement in representation across all racial and ethnic identities, as well as from women. Companies are leveraging efforts such as employee resource groups, pay-gap reporting and cultural month celebrations to appeal to potential employees, engage diverse populations and improve workplace culture.
Organizations are beginning to focus on developing the workforce of today and tomorrow – A&D companies are exploring ways to build a strong talent pipeline by collaborating with educational institutions, investing in youth and next-generation education, and creating hands-on internship and leadership programs. At the same time, they are equipping current employees with the skills needed now by increasing access to learning and development opportunities, particularly for key technical competencies such as cybersecurity and data analytics – and finding success.
“While it’s no surprise that the sector is feeling the headwinds from talent shortage, I see this as an opportune time for companies to turbocharge their talent transformation efforts to address the immediate challenge while building the workforce of the future,” said Raman Ram, EY Americas Aerospace & Defense Leader. “Building a dynamic workforce through re-skilling and education investments will allow the industry to meet the expected surge in demand and shift in capabilities required.”
“The A&D industry has made progress implementing impactful talent strategies, starting from the ground up,” said Dan Dumbacher, AIAA Executive Director. “Through this study, we can see where meaningful action has influenced the future of the aerospace and defense workforce. We believe the study’s findings will help employers across the industry continue to make the needed innovative and progressive steps forward.”
“We are excited to continue our collaboration with AIA and AIAA on this annual study, and we are thrilled to see how the research will be used to enhance digital transformation and workforce development across this critical industry,” said Steve Fuller, Partner, People Advisory Services, EY US.
About AIA
For over 100 years, the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) has been the voice of the American aerospace and defense industry. Our work as an advocate and convener is essential to shaping policy, shedding light on the industry’s impact and empowering its future. Our CEO-level officers from across our more than 300 member companies guide these efforts, strengthening the industry’s ability to effectively support America’s national security and economy. Together, we advocate for effective federal investments; accelerated deployment of innovative technologies; policies that enhance our global competitiveness; and recruitment and retention efforts that support a capable and diverse 21st century workforce.
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visitaiaa.org or follow AIAA onTwitter,Facebook,LinkedIn and Instagram.
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Collaboration with AIA and NAFEMS Advocates for Industry Adoption
January 26, 2023 – National Harbor, Maryland – The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) today released an implementation paper to advance the use of Digital Twins across the aerospace industry at the 2023 AIAA SciTech Forum. The paper, “Digital Twin: Reference Model, Realizations & Recommendations,” is a collaboration with the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), and the Americas Regional Steering Committee of the International Association for the Engineering Modelling, Analysis and Simulation Community (NAFEMS). The paper is available for download on the AIAA website.
“Digital transformation is the fourth industrial revolution. The aerospace industry needs to accelerate its adoption and realization of Digital Twins to achieve the value and benefits from this technology advancement,” said AIAA Executive Director Dan Dumbacher.
Co-authors John F. Matlik, Engineering Digital Transformation Lead, Rolls-Royce Defense, and Olivia J. Pinon Fischer, Senior Research Engineer and Division Chief – Digital Engineering Division, Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory, School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology,
discussed the paper during forum this week in National Harbor, Maryland. During the session entitled, Digital Twin and Digital Thread Integration, they shared the specific next steps toward Digital Twin implementation advocated for in the paper:
Create and/or leverage an existing Aerospace Digital Transformation Consortium (ADTC) that will champion and coordinate implementation and consistency management efforts across industry, academia, and government.
Launch an initial pathfinder effort on Joint All Domain Command & Control (JADC2).
The AIAA Digital Engineering Integration Committee authored the paper, with approval from the AIAA Public Policy Committee. In addition, substantial contributions were made by The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) Patterns Working Group, and The Digital Twin Consortium, a community of the Object Management Group (OMG).
Media Contact: Rebecca B. Gray, [email protected], 804-397-5270 cell
About AIAA
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is the world’s largest aerospace technical society. With nearly 30,000 individual members from 91 countries, and 100 corporate members, AIAA brings together industry, academia, and government to advance engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense. For more information, visit aiaa.org, and follow AIAA on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
