NEW YORK -- Commercial airlines will need to recruit and train 609,000 new aircraft maintenance technicians over the next 20 years to meet rising demand, according to a Boeing forecast released Monday.
The demand is similar for pilots: Boeing predicts there will be a need for 558,000 new pilots over the same time period.
Asia Pacific will see the largest growth, according to the report.
The additional staff will be needed to run a projected 38,000 new aircraft added to the global fleet over the next 20 years, the U.S. aerospace giant said. Boeing has 17 training campuses worldwide.
"The challenge of meeting the global demand for airline professionals will not be solved by one company alone," said Sherry Carbary, vice president of Boeing Flight Services.
"Aircraft manufacturers, airlines, training equipment manufacturers, training delivery organizations, regulatory agencies and educational institutions are all stepping up to meet the increasing need to train and certify pilots and technicians."
Compared with the company's 2014 outlook, demand for technicians rose about 5%, and pilot demand, 4%.
After Asia Pacific, North America was second as far as new technician staff needed with 113,000, followed by Europe (+101,000), Middle East (+66,000), Latin America (+47,000) and Africa and Russia/CIS (both +22,000).
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2015
