Aircraft Structural Technician, Structural Integrity (#25712)

The employment outlook will be Good for aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors (NOC 72404) in Ontario for the 2025-2027 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• Several positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What Types of Employers Are Out There?

• Airlines and support services such as repair, maintenance, and inspection
• Aerospace product and parts manufacturers
• Federal government defence services

What are the Main Trends Affecting Employment?

• Significant investments in the aerospace cluster
• Steady improvement in the level of global air travel
• Demand for aircraft mechanics and inspectors in defence services depends on military spending

What Skills Do I Need to Succeed?

• An Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) licence issued by Transport Canada is required for signing maintenance releases and certifying airworthiness
• Certification is available from the Canadian Council for Aviation & Aerospace (CCAA) for roles within this occupation.

Here are some key facts about aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors in Ontario:

• Approximately 7,200 people work in this occupation.
• Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Other transportation and warehousing (NAICS 482-483, 486, 487, 493): 37%
  • Air transportation (NAICS 481): 35%
  • Other transportation equipment manufacturing (NAICS 3364-3369): 13%
  • Federal government public administration (NAICS 911): 6%
• 63% of aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors work all year, while 37% work only part of the year, compared to 63% and 37% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 42 weeks compared to 43 weeks for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 95% compared to 52% for all occupations
  • Women: 5% compared to 48% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 14% compared to 25% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 17% compared to 8% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 54% compared to 22% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 10% compared to 24% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 13% for all occupations