MonticelloLive

“Arkansas Aerospace.” These two words, placed side-by-side, smash into bits 175 years of myth and stereotypes about our State. Arkansas is currently ranked 13th in the nation in aerospace exports. In 2006, the industry exported more than one-billion dollars worth of aircraft, parts, and related technology, making aerospace one of Arkansas’s top exports.

The development and growth of the aerospace industry in Arkansas should make every one of us proud, but we can’t waste a second patting one another on the back. If we want to nurture what we’ve built and ensure its continued growth, we have work to do.

While we’re ranked 13th in aerospace exports, every state ranked ahead of Arkansas has a larger population. And every state ahead of us ranks higher in the educational attainment of its workforce. If we’re going to maintain this industry in Arkansas, we have to provide the manpower it requires. If we’re going to grow what we have, we have to take the next step and increase the number of advanced-degree holders we produce in engineering and physics and other related fields.

Dassault Falcon and Hawker Beechcraft, together, employ 2,900 Arkansans but will need an additional 450 employees within the next 18 months. Associated companies, such as Custom Aircraft Cabinets and Galley Support Innovations, need skilled employees as well.

If these companies cannot find qualified applicants in Arkansas, they will be forced to increase production in locations where the demand for skilled workers can be met. We will be faced with the very real possibility of the aerospace industry and associated jobs leaving our State. If that occurs, Arkansas will have missed a prime opportunity for economic growth and development.

In a global economy, Arkansas must compete, not only with Texas, Louisiana, and Missouri, for the best jobs; we must also compete with China, India, and South America. If we’re going to be truly competitive, we need a workforce prepared to fill the jobs of the 21st century. We must have a workforce that can adapt to the rapid pace of technological change.

Meeting this challenge will require a new focus on life-long learning – from pre-kindergarten programs that give our youngest children the advantage of starting school ready to learn, to job training and re-training designed to deliver new skills to our existing workforce. Increasing our college-graduate rates may be the single most important step we can take to guarantee a more prosperous future for Arkansas, and we’re doing more, today, to meet that critical need than ever before.

I am working to make college more affordable for all of our students who are capable of doing the coursework. In August, I unveiled my GO! Opportunities Grant program that provides up to $4,000 for students going to college, based purely on financial need. I also increased higher-education funding by ten percent in my balanced budget this year. That money will improve our four-year colleges and universities, as well as our two-year colleges and technical schools, which play such a critical role in preparing our workforce to succeed and keep pace in the world we live in now.

UALR and Pulaski Technical College have taken the lead in addressing our need for a skilled workforce for the aerospace industry. UALR’s engineering college and Pulaski Tech’s aircraft manufacturing-technology classes are the first step in our move toward educating our workforce. The challenge is in delivering candidates to those programs who are prepared to succeed.

These are exciting times, as we go forth, taking the necessary steps to prepare ourselves to assume the important tasks and opportunities that await us. I am confident that we can meet the challenges before us now and write the next chapter in this amazing Arkansas success story.