Attracting new blood tougher than building jets and ICBMs.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: DEFENSE WATCH

For many industries, successful "youth marketing" is the secret to long-term profits and growth.

For aerospace and defense, the pursuit of the much-coveted youth market has become a matter of survival.

The recruitment and retention of young professionals--especially those U.S.-born who can qualify for top-secret security clearances--has senior aerospace executives feeling a bit anxious these days. They don't precisely know how big a problem this really is, but they see trends that do not look promising.

The president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, George K. Muellner, recently cited a 14 percent loss rate of young professionals industry-wide. He blamed the retention woes on a combination of old-fashioned youth-unfriendly management style on the part of the industry and the perception that aerospace work is not as meaningful and rewarding as it was during the Cold War and NASA's glory days.

Alarms about an aging work force have been ringing for about two decades both in government and industry. Forecasts of baby boomers retiring in droves with no one to replace them have been the subject of endless think tank studies and op-eds. These latest findings by AIAA, alas, are more icing on the cake.

At a recent industry conference, Muellner said aerospace firms are losing young engineers because they find the work boring, they are not involved in decision making and do not find inspiring mentors among their superiors. Many younger workers also shun aerospace because the industry is not perceived as making a "contribution to society." Similar observations were cited in a Defense Department-funded study by the JASON science advisory group.

Greg Pearson of the National Academy of Engineering said opinion polls back these pessimistic views. Compared to doctors, teachers, military officers and other professions, said Pearson, engineering is seen by the public as having relatively low prestige.

NAE estimated that the industry spends $400 million annually on outreach and PR designed to attract younger workers. "Yet, there is little evidence of impact," Pearson said.

One problem is that the industry has no identifiable "public face" of engineering, he said. Many kids see engineers as "desk jockeys," who are disconnected from people.

The Defense Department and many of its contractors have tried to tackle this issue by emphasizing education programs that promote math, science and engineering. They have funded scholarships and...