VHR is a global technical recruitment specialist with deep roots in aviation, aerospace and defence. Operating across North America, Europe, the Middle East and beyond, VHR partners with airlines, MROs and OEMs to source, place and develop high-quality technical talent at every level, from certified A&P mechanics and AME technicians to senior operations and quality leadership. In a sector where a staffing gap is never just an HR problem, it's a compliance risk, a revenue event, and in some cases a safety concern, VHR's value lies not just in finding candidates, but in understanding the regulatory environments, endorsement landscapes and workforce dynamics that shape every hire.
Meet the Contributors
Jerome Gray is a Growth Marketing Specialist at VHR, focused on the aviation and defence sectors across North America and the Middle East. Jerome works at the intersection of market intelligence and recruitment strategy, helping VHR communicate the real challenges facing the industry, and the solutions that actually move the needle.
Matthew Jasper is a Technical Recruiter at VHR specialising in aviation across the UK and North America. Working day-to-day with operators, MROs and maintenance providers, Matthew has a ground-level understanding of where talent is scarce, why it moves, and what it takes to attract and retain certified technicians in one of the world's most demanding hiring markets.
The Question – “Where do you typically see the biggest capacity gaps in current technician teams?"
It's a deceptively simple question, but the answer cuts to the heart of one of the most pressing structural challenges in North American aviation right now. With MRO Americas 2026 fast approaching, the industry's largest annual gathering, taking place in Orlando this April, workforce capacity is set to be one of the defining topics on the show floor. Ahead of the event, we sat down with Matthew to get his ground-level view on where the real gaps are, and what operators and MROs should be thinking about right now.
The numbers paint a stark picture. VHR released a whitepaper on Unseen Risks & Challenges Ahead for US Aviation, Aerospace & Defense – The US Aviation market is projected to grow from $86.7 billion in 2025 to $105 billion by 2030, and commercial passenger traffic is expected to rise by 25.6% over the same period. Meanwhile, the US is projected to face a shortage of 25,000 aircraft technicians by 2028, with the broader commercial aerospace sector needing an additional 123,000 technicians by 2045. The FAA issued only slightly more than 9,000 new mechanic certificates in all of 2024, a pipeline that is nowhere near keeping pace with demand.
Access our White paper here
The workforce itself is ageing. A quarter of the aerospace and defence sector is at or near retirement age, and 38% of US pilots are over 50. In cargo and ACMI operations, traditionally reliant on older aircraft types with increasingly rare endorsements, the problem is doubly acute: the aircraft are ageing out at the same time as the technicians who know how to maintain them. The industry's employee turnover rate of 13% is more than three times the North American average, and McKinsey estimates the talent drain is costing the average medium-sized aerospace and defence business $300–$330 million every year.
For MROs operating under FAA Part 145 certification, the stakes are even higher. FAA regulations mandate a "sufficient number" of qualified personnel at all times, and understaffing isn't just an operational problem, it's a certificate risk. Every unfilled shift carries a cost: a grounded narrowbody aircraft costs operators anywhere from $6,000 to $150,000 per hour in downtime. Heavy check slots running below full utilisation represent $0.8–1.2 million in deferred revenue per bay. The pressure is relentless, and it falls squarely on the shoulders of the people trying to build and maintain capable technician teams.
For a broader look at what this growth trajectory means for the industry over the coming decade, read our deep-dive: The Future of Aviation in America.
So where exactly are the gaps, and why are they so hard to close? We asked Matthew to break it down.
Matthew's Answer
The first thing Matthew is clear on is what this problem actually is, and what it isn't.
"The biggest capability gaps in technician teams are driven less by capability itself and more by structural labour shortages, endorsement bottlenecks and demographic trends."
It's a distinction worth holding onto. The issue isn't that aviation technicians lack skill. It's that the people who have the right skills, the right licences, and the right endorsements are already employed, settled, well-compensated, and in no hurry to move. And the systems designed to produce more of them aren't keeping pace.
Canada: A Smaller Pool, A Bigger Problem
Matthew describes Canada as especially challenging right now, and the reasons are structural rather than incidental.
The Canadian aviation market mirrors the US in its hierarchical "food chain", larger carriers and operators at the top, regional and independent providers further down, but it operates at a fraction of the scale. That means the talent concentration at the top is even more pronounced, and the options for everyone else are more limited. Specialist roles like AMES technicians are, in Matthew's words, "extremely rare", almost universally already placed in stable, high-paying positions. Unless a competing employer can match on salary, benefits and schedule flexibility, that talent simply won't move.
Endorsement bottlenecks make this worse. The Boeing 777 is a pointed example. Triple 7 endorsements in Canada are concentrated overwhelmingly at Air Canada, which sits firmly at the top of the food chain. Smaller operators that need 777-qualified technicians have traditionally bridged the gap by engaging Air Canada employees on their days off, a workable if slightly more expensive solution that keeps experienced hands on the tools.
But that workaround may be under threat. Matthew flags a growing concern in the industry: Air Canada is currently in contract negotiations with its engineering union, and there is mounting speculation that non-compete clauses, already embedded in existing contracts, could be actively enforced as a negotiation tactic. If that happens, the airlines and line maintenance providers currently relying on Air Canada technicians for contract work could lose their entire contractor base overnight. "The bigger issue is there's no one to replace that either," Matthew notes. "That's the reason why they're doing it to start with."
MROs are likely to be exempt under existing contract terms, but airlines and third-party line maintenance providers face a more exposed position. The forward-thinking response, and one VHR is already helping companies pursue, is to get ahead of the problem now: finding experienced technicians who are open to being sponsored through a 777 endorsement, bringing them in-house, and building that capability internally. It's a longer road, and one that shifts the hiring lens firmly toward behavioural fit as much as technical background, since you're not recruiting someone who already has the type of experience you need, but it's increasingly the only sustainable path.
This shift toward sponsoring and building talent from within is increasingly becoming the template, and it's a model we explore in more depth in our piece on addressing the aerospace skills shortage by recruiting from adjacent industries.
The international pipeline isn't a quick fix either. Converting an EASA licence to a Canadian AME licence can take up to two years, far longer than equivalent processes in the US. And Canada's immigration environment has tightened considerably, making it more expensive and more difficult to bring overseas technicians in, even when the licensing pathway is clear. The combined effect is a market where even common types like the 737 and A320 are becoming harder to staff. "There's no light at the end of that tunnel currently," Matthew says.
The US: More Flexibility, But Real Gaps Emerging
The US market is more forgiving in some respects. The talent pool is larger, licensing conversion is more straightforward, an AMP licence can be obtained or converted from a foreign licence on a much faster timeline, and there is at least the theoretical possibility of drawing from Canada or Mexico to supplement the domestic supply.
But Matthew is careful not to overstate the advantage. Licence alone doesn't equal operational readiness, and this is a distinction he returns to throughout. "Just because someone is licensed doesn't mean that they're truly operationally ready. Just because they have endorsements or types doesn't mean they're actually ready to work on those types and sign them off."
Regional variation is one of the defining features of the US market. Dense MRO clusters, Texas, Florida, Arizona, the Carolinas, have deep local talent pools, but that concentration creates its own problem: people in those clusters don't need to relocate, which means operators outside them face an uphill battle convincing anyone to move. Getting someone to Montana, Idaho or the Dakotas requires a genuine lifestyle sell, and even then, the pool of willing candidates is thin.
Salary competition has intensified the problem, though Matthew senses it may be levelling off slightly. At its peak, operators were engaging in what he describes as "salary wars", $2 to $5 per hour pay bumps, improved per diem packages, and more predictable shift schedules, all in pursuit of the same limited pool of candidates. The food chain dynamic plays out here just as it does in Canada: the bigger carriers absorb the best talent, and the regional airlines and smaller operators are left competing for whoever remains, with thinner margins and less capacity to win. VHR's team saw this play out first-hand at the industry level. Read our key takeaways from MRO Europe 2025, where mid-career talent drain and extended vacancy timelines were among the defining themes on the show floor.
The ageing workforce creates a specific and worsening problem at the legacy end of the fleet. Cargo operators and ACMI carriers have traditionally given older aircraft, 767s, DC-9 families, 737 Classics, even 727s, a second life after passenger airlines retire them. But the technicians with deep experience in those types are themselves approaching retirement, and that skill set is disappearing from the market. "We're losing just that skill from the market purely on retirements," Matthew says. It's a contracting market with no pipeline to replace it. For a wider view of how the MRO sector is responding to this structural experience drain, see our analysis: How the MRO Industry is Closing the Experience Gap.
Business aviation presents its own distinct challenge. Significant gaps exist across Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault and Embraer type experience, and these roles can be harder to fill than equivalent airline positions. Part of the reason is structural: the commercial airline ecosystem has a relatively clear progression, technicians develop at regional carriers and move up, which gives larger operators a defined feeder pool to recruit from. Business aviation lacks that clarity. Many operators are similar in size and compensation, all competing for the same technicians, without the defined hierarchy that makes the commercial airline market at least somewhat navigable.
VHR in Action: Closing the Gap When It Matters Most
The challenges Matthew describes aren't hypothetical; VHR works with MROs and aviation businesses facing exactly these pressures every day.
When a leading MRO provider specialising in business jets and commercial narrow-body aircraft was let down by a previous supplier and suddenly found itself without the workforce to fulfil its commitments, VHR stepped in to source, screen and deploy a full team of 25 qualified engineers within the required timeframe, ensuring seamless project continuity for their end client. As the client put it: -
"VHR was a lifesaver when we faced an urgent staffing shortage."
In another case, a US-headquartered global MRO needed 48 engineers for a major international project, requiring VHR to manage not just recruitment but payroll, visa processing and local compliance simultaneously. When the project scope shifted mid-engagement and engineers needed relocating to a new country at short notice, VHR adapted without disruption.
These aren't exceptional circumstances in today's market, they're increasingly the norm. The structural shortages Matthew describes mean MROs can no longer rely on the market to deliver talent on a standard timeline. Speed, network depth, and the ability to manage complexity end-to-end are what separate a genuine staffing partner from a transactional supplier.
Want to see the full picture of how VHR has helped MROs solve urgent workforce challenges? Read VHR's case studies
Looking Ahead: The Gaps That Don't Yet Exist - But Will
Even setting aside today's shortages, Matthew points to the horizon. The emergence of eVTOL aircraft is creating an entirely new demand profile for technicians with electrical and battery systems expertise, a skill set that barely exists in the current maintenance workforce. Avionics is already a skill in high demand, and that demand will only grow as aircraft become more technologically sophisticated. The industry is, in his framing, heading into a new era of aviation, and the workforce isn't ready for it yet. Matthew expands on this in detail in our dedicated breakdown: The Most In-Demand Aviation Skills Across the United States Right Now.
The gaps in today's technician teams, in other words, are not just a product of demographics and endorsement bottlenecks. They are also a preview of a deeper mismatch between the skills the industry currently has and the skills it is going to need.
Talk to Our Specialist Team
Whether you're facing an urgent staffing gap today or planning ahead for the challenges Matthew outlines, VHR's specialist aviation recruitment team is here to help. From MRO technician placement and endorsement-specific searches to workforce planning and international deployment, we bring the network, the regulatory knowledge, and the speed the market demands.
