CAE Adds Flexibility to Technician Training

CAE is introducing flexibility and digital tools across its aircraft maintenance technician training programs as the industry faces mounting workforce pressures and an evolving learning environment. An online booking platform, debuting this week at NBAA-BACE 2025, also allows customers to book training slots online. 

The maintenance technician shortage is a real puzzle, acknowledged David Bienvenu, CAE’s global leader for maintenance training. “For every 10,000 that are retiring, only 7,000 people are joining the workforce,” Bienvenu said, noting a net-negative starting point as business aviation grows.

The 2025 CAE Aviation Talent forecast backs this up, predicting a need for 69,000 aircraft maintenance personnel in the business aviation sector alone by 2034. Bienvenu noted that as many as 20% to 40% of technicians are over the age of 55, leaving operators with fewer mentors for new hires, and shifting the traditional balance of experience on the hangar floor.

In an effort to adapt to customer needs, CAE now offers three training formats: in-person sessions at its centers, instructor-led hybrid courses connecting virtual and classroom learners, and onsite instruction at customer facilities. “Our direction is to give as much flexibility to our customers as we can,” Bienvenu said.

Among CAE’s latest innovations is modular training, developed with Bombardier and now expanding to all Bombardier Service Center locations in North America. The program consolidates courses across entire aircraft families—such as the Challenger and Global series—allowing technicians to “learn in smaller bites,” Bienvenu explained, alternating class modules with hands-on work to reinforce retention.

The company has also revamped its professional development curriculum into three tiers, supporting technicians as they advance from early-career roles to management and executive levels. 

Top technicians can sometimes be thrust into leadership positions without adequate coaching, Bienvenu noted, adding that CAE’s Aviation Interpersonal Management (AIM) courses focus on mentoring, coaching, and transitioning technicians into people leaders.

CAE’s growing maintenance training portfolio complements its expanding global footprint, including the recently inaugurated CAE Vienna center, which adds key capacity for European pilot and technician training.