Aerospace jobs go wanting

The aerospace and defense industry comprises a major part of Oklahoma's economy. Phil Busey Sr. is among those who hope that impact will only continue to grow, although he has his concerns.

Busey is chairman of the Oklahoma City-based Busey Group of Companies, which includes Delaware Resource Group of Oklahoma. DRG, Busey says, has grown 4,000% since he and his wife, Cathy, started the business in 2002. Today it has 650-700 employees, and a presence in nine countries, in aerospace and defense.

“We have grown to be Oklahoma's second-largest locally based aerospace and defense company, behind Nordam in Tulsa,” Busey said in a recent email. “The aerospace industry here is adding jobs, and new businesses are moving here with Tinker's growth.”

Tinker Air Force Base is home to the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, the U.S. military's largest maintenance, repair and

overhaul depot. According to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, more than 120,000 Oklahomans are employed by aerospace and defense companies, work that accounts for $43.7 billion in economic activity annually.

However, Busey notes, the major issue facing his company and others is talent.

“We are all having extreme difficulty attracting new experienced employees,” he says. He places the number of aerospace-related openings in Oklahoma City at roughly 1,500.

This lament isn't new. In 2017, Tinker's former commander, Lt. Gen. Lee Levy, told the state's higher education regents: “I can hire every four-year engineering graduate the state of Oklahoma produces … and still have empty chairs. Obviously, that's not a path to sustainability.”

Oklahoma's colleges and universities are doing what they can; a dozen of them have aerospace programs, and the number of STEM degrees (science, technology, engineering, math) awarded by higher education has grown by more than 25 percent in the past seven years.

Levy suggested the state needed a long-term strategy to meet the need for scientists and engineers. Busey concurs, saying the state needs to continue investing in workforce development and drive students toward STEM classes early on.

“Workforce development begins in elementary school to higher education, with relevant curriculums and student awareness of careers in aerospace,” Busey writes.

“As a state we are at an important point in expanding our economy,” he says. “It takes all segments of our state and community to move us forward, from nonprofits to business to government. … Meeting the needs of the aerospace industry, we can continue to grow as a center of global aerospace excellence.”

He provides policymakers and others a little something to think about during these dog days of summer.