A May 2010 poll conducted by the Performance Review Institute (PRI), which administers the Nadcap program, shows that 40% of the respondents around the world are planning to retire within the next five years. 215 aerospace workers participated in the poll, which posed the question "Are you planning to retire within the next 5 years?"

Arshad Hafeez, PRI director of global business operations & corporate strategies commented: "The impending potential loss of nearly half the workforce is a concern. Aerospace is a highly skilled industry and the necessary experience and qualifications cannot be replaced overnight. Through the joint efforts of many major aerospace companies, such as Alcoa, Goodrich Corporation and Honeywell Aerospace, steps are being taken to develop the next generation to safeguard the future of the industry."

This vision is shared by Kevin Ward, Enterprise Quality Director for Special Processes, Goodrich Corporation, who agreed: "Special process skills are being lost around the world due to an aging workforce. It doesn't seem glamorous to young people compared to something like software engineering. At the same time, the work is spreading around the world. We determined that there was a need to capture special process knowledge and share it for the benefit of the industry. Providing CPI falls within the remit of PRI so it made sense to use the organization as a conduit.

"The focus now must be to capture today's knowledge and pass it on to the next generation. Or we will find ourselves looking at a product in the future and not knowing what to do with it. Sharing our knowledge and harmonizing it throughout the industry is the best thing we can do now for the future."