From Talent Gap to Talent Pipeline: How GE Aerospace is Building the European Aerospace Workforce of Tomorrow

The European aerospace industry is booming, but one critical headwind threatens to slow its ascent: a growing skills gap. With vacancies for key roles such as engineers and technicians reaching as high as 20%, the industry’s ability to innovate and support airline customers is on the line. 

This challenge, however, is a powerful opportunity to promote aerospace careers  overall — the high-tech, high-impact roles that are among the best-paid in Europe, with wages in aerospace and defense averaging 44% more than other industries. The task ahead is to make these careers more accessible to the next generation. Closing the gap will require a long-term pipeline of technical talent entering the workforce, and a long-term commitment to investment and action.

GE Aerospace is meeting the challenge head-on. With the company’s largest presence outside the U.S. — with 13,000 employees across 18 countries — there is a long-standing commitment to the region's success. The workforce approach is built on three pillars: investing in state-of-the-art facilities, empowering our people with continuous training, and building a robust talent pipeline. 

To back that strategy, the company has a significant, sustained investment in Europe. In 2026, GE Aerospace is planning  to invest more than €110 million across our European manufacturing sites, building on a €78 million investment in 2025. Crucially, this investment supports the plan to hire 1,000 new open positions across the continent this year alone. There are also plans to invest approximately €40 million across maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) network and component repair facilities in Europe, as part of a $1 billion investment worldwide announced in 2024. Together, it's a direct commitment to keeping customers' fleets flying by expanding capacity and empowering a skilled workforce.

What does the GE Aerospace talent pipeline look like in action?

Solving the aerospace skills gap requires creating talent, not just finding it. This means building pathways for passionate individuals to enter the industry at any stage of their career. To see this in action, meet Pawel Wika, an aircraft engine technician at the XEOS facility in Poland.

Wika’s story is a testament to how targeted investment in reskilling can unlock new pools of talent. After spending 20 years in a corporate role, he decided to turn his lifelong passion for technology and aviation into a new career, and the XEOS Academy — part of a state-of-the-art engine MRO facility and a joint venture between GE Aerospace and Lufthansa Technik — provided the exact pathway he needed. The Academy helped him take that leap later in his career, providing the specialized training to become a certified technician. As Wika puts it: "Change is the essence of growth. It’s never too late to learn something new and take on a challenge.” 

Wika’s experience demonstrates a core part of GE Aerospace strategy: it's not only about hiring recent graduates. It's also a deep commitment to continuous learning and providing opportunities for career transformation, because a skilled and empowered workforce is essential to strengthening delivery for our customers. This philosophy is embedded in the company’s culture, from the shared problem-solving language taught through FLIGHT DECK, the company’s proprietary lean operating model, to the on-the-job development that helps every employee deepen their technical skills.

Today, Wika is on the shop floor, applying his new skills to help keep customers' fleets flying. His story proves that with the right investment in training and a culture that values growth at any age, the talent to solve the aerospace skills gap is readily available, ready to be empowered.

Building the aerospace talent pipeline across Europe

Wika’s journey is just one example of a broader commitment. Across Europe, GE Aerospace is creating multiple pathways into the industry. The company’s award-nominated apprenticeship program with Ayrshire College in Scotland, where apprentices work alongside experienced technicians maintaining advanced engines such as the GEnx, has already produced standout talents like Louise Collins, Scotland’s Apprentice of the Year Winner 2025. 

In the same spirit, GE Aerospace’s Avio Aero business in Italy partners with institutions such as

ITS Academy in Torino to blend on-the-job training with academic study. And looking to the future, the Next Engineers program in Warsaw is on track to bring hands-on engineering experience to 4,000 students, inspiring the next generation before they even leave school.

What is the broader mission for the European aerospace industry?

The journeys of individuals like Wika and Collins are why the company continues to invest in building the next generation. However, the scale of the aerospace skills gap means no single company can solve it alone. 

As industry leaders increasingly recognize, the fear of "losing staff to competitors" is being replaced by the understanding that the industry is stronger together . To close the skills gap, industry leaders must write the next chapter together. 

That future looks most vibrant at local hubs where industry and education work as one, turning regional apprenticeship programs into engines of community talent. It’s the future GE Aerospace is committed to building — not just for European aviation, but for the next generation of innovators. If you want to be part of it, explore careers at GE Aerospace and find your place on the team that's helping to define the future of flight.

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At GE Aerospace, we believe the world works better when it flies.  As a world-leading provider of jet engines, components, and integrated systems for commercial and military aircraft, our substantial investment in research and development keeps us looking ahead.  We have a relentless dedication to the future of safe and more sustainable flight and believe in our talented people to make it happen. Here, you will have the opportunity to truly make an impact. Discover how your career can take flight at careers.geaerospace.com.