MUKILTEO – Washington’s aerospace industry may be booming, but it can always be better.
On Tuesday, industry representatives met with government and community officials to discuss how to collectively put their best foot forward. Companies large and small, including the Boeing Co., BAE Systems, Teague, ElectroImpact and other members of the aerospace community say they need more from the state in terms of training opportunities and tax breaks.
“I think it’s going to take a real cooperative effort” among state and federal government and business officials, said Rep. Phyllis Kenney, D-Seattle.
Kenney serves as chairwoman of the House Community and Economic Development and Trade Committee, which held the roundtable discussion Tuesday at the Future of Flight Aviation Center in Mukilteo.
One issue that industry representatives are most anxious to address with lawmakers is workforce training. Aerospace companies around the region are running short on trained workers.
Lisa Janicki, whose family runs Janicki Industries in Skagit County, sees both a short-term and long-term shortage of qualified employees. The company is expanding and will need 300 people working in production its new facility within the next two years.
“I’m not sure where they’re going to come from,” she said.
Small- and medium-sized businesses find it tough to compete with the benefits and pay that Boeing can offer its employees.
PCSI Design’s Carlos Veliz suggested a reason for the paucity in aerospace job applicants from the region: disinterested youths.
“I think the bridge is broken … between small business and our education system,” he said.
Students need to be introduced to math and science, as well as career opportunities, at a young age. The best way to engage students, thus ensuring a pipeline of potential employees, is to bring your message to them rather than relying solely on the education system to do so, he said. Veliz spends time in area schools to tell students about the work his company does.
Many of the industry participants, including Veliz and PCSI, do not qualify for the aerospace tax credits the Legislature passed in 2003 and 2006. The state offered $3.2 billion in incentives to entice Boeing to assemble its 787 Dreamliner here. In the 2007 session, the Legislature considered a bill to extend the tax incentives even further, but the legislation was withdrawn.
“There’s about 25 companies left that have not been included in the aerospace incentives,” said Linda Lanham with Aerospace Futures Alliance.
Lanham said she has organized a team to craft legislation in 2008 to include those neglected aerospace companies.
The tax credits allow aerospace companies to remain competitive, said Dan Mock of Teague. Boeing is demanding more – more problem solving, more innovation – from its suppliers. The tax dollars that companies save go back into development, into meeting the industry’s new demands, he said.
Although the industry and state have made progress since Boeing decided to assemble its new jet in Everett, plenty remains to be done, said Susan Champlain from Boeing.
“We can’t stop,” Champlain said. ‘We need to continue to make it less expensive to do business here.”
Reporter Michelle Dunlop: 425-339-3454 or mdunlop@heraldnet.com.
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