More people are buying online than ever before, and expectations for speedy delivery are constantly rising. As a result, some online retailers are investing in their own delivery pipelines, which is creating new jobs for skilled workers who can optimize these supply chains.
Notably, Amazon is spending $1.5B to build its own cargo airline hub in Kentucky. The new facility will create 2,000 jobs, many of them for technicians, maintenance, and support staff for 40 Amazon Prime Air planes. This infrastructure investment will help ensure that Amazon’s tens of millions of Amazon Prime members can continue to expect free two-day shipping on all purchases.
Amazon’s entry into the cargo market aligns with Boeing’s 2016-2017 forecast for world air cargo growth. According to Boeing, “world air cargo traffic is forecast to grow an average 4.2 percent per year over the next 20 years to reach a total of more than twice the number of RTKs logged in 2015. The number of airplanes in the freighter fleet will increase by 70 percent by the end of the forecast period.”
That’s a lot of new planes in the air, and a lot of new technicians on the ground making sure that every aircraft is safe, efficient, and effective. And many of those technicians will be trained at the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics (PIA), one of America’s top trade schools according to Forbes.
