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accordingly the remaining positions had to be covered by company staff. Nowadays, all of this training is offered by other entities such as trade unions and official authorities. Fortunately, university studies are now more accessible to the general public for cultural, geographic and economic reasons, and the requirement to study languages is no longer the handicap it was in the past. However, given that not all aeronautical trades are contemplated by these courses, practical work experience with companies in the sector is also necessary, which provides a constant source of new staff. - Quality: In recent years, quality standards have become a constant feature of aeronautical manufacture, affecting every single part of an aircraft. Major manufacturers have been vital in the promotion of these quality standards, requiring collaborating companies to personally assume responsibility for the same in order to work in the sector. We have progressed from the early steps for the unification of criteria under ISO 9000 standards through to their full assimilation together with the latest updates of the same. This area will be further transformed following the establishment of the specific standards for the aerospace sector under EN9100 and international bodies such as PRI-NADCAP for the mutual recognition of production capacities. Technical advances have also assisted us in this area, enabling far more detailed inspections and checks than those in place a few years ago. Manufacturing requirements are stricter but the resources to ensure their correct application have developed as well. It is now possible to measure an aircraft without physically touching it, something which was unthinkable not so long ago. However, it is not just major manufacturers but also suppliers which have assumed this business model in response to market requirements. Mave AeronĂĄutica is a supplier of quality control services which has also made major contributions in this respect, enabling the combination of traditional inspection processes with innovative applications and consolidating the new technology introduced on the market. The field of tooling is a good example, where inspections of assembly tools with traditional optical devices has now been superseded by a new generation of laser tracking systems which enable measurement of large areas with ease and digitised assembly platforms with subsequent reproduction of results, doing away with the need for cumbersome physical calibrators. Aerostructure inspection has improved to enable the display of results (diagrams,
images, schemes etc) in previously unimaginable ways, including the creation of three-dimensional images of multiple variations to the parts being measured. In addition, MAVE works with equipment suppliers to improve the inspection processes of its customers, thereby optimising costs, providing added solidity to manufacturing processes and keeping up with market developments. MAVE is a wholly Andalusian company which has been generating steady earnings and employment for the last nine years. It offers top-level aeronautical quality control services with maximum flexibility and the assurance of its extensive knowledge of the sector. As a consequence of all the above developments, today we can manufacture "athletic" aircraft which are larger, higher, faster, quieter and more environmentally friendly. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg; new aircraft designs incorporate innovations such as composite materials, low fuel consumption and even research into new means of propulsion. At the same time, production resources are constantly changing, the experience and professionalism of workers in the industry continues to improve and the diversification of products manufactured on the world market has exceeded all expectations. All of these developments will ensure that Andalusia continues to grow in international importance, confirming its status as Europe´s third largest aeronautical cluster. A+A