Succession planning for Aerospace Tooling Makers: the master toolmaker's craft and who learns it
In a tool room, hand fitting and judging by feel sit with one or two masters. Succession planning here means naming who learns what, from whom, and by when.
Not sure what you need? Tell us about your business in six short steps and we will come to the first meeting prepared.
Share your requirementsWhy succession planning matters in aerospace tooling makers
The master toolmaker can scrape a fixture to fit by feel and say why a block will be hard to finish. They may be a few years from retiring, and no one has been taught in a planned way. Apprentices sweep and fetch, and the best leave before they are useful. When the master goes, so does the ability to deliver the toughest tools.
Good looks like a short list of critical roles, a named successor for each, and a written plan of jobs on which the successor works beside the master. The method is recorded with photos and notes. The master has a recognised role as teacher, and the owner can say today which tools could not be built if one person left.
How to set it up
1. List the roles the shop cannot do without
Master toolmakers, the wire EDM setter, the senior designer and the gauge inspector. For each, note age, what only they can do and how long it would take to replace.
2. Name a successor for each
One apprentice or senior fitter per role, chosen with the master. Tell them openly, and agree a first review date.
3. Plan jobs for learning, not leftovers
Choose live tools that need hand fitting and put the successor beside the master, with a written list of what to be taught on each job.
4. Record the method as it is taught
Photos, short notes and a measured example of a good fit, filed with the job. Our succession planning support can set up the format.
5. Recognise the teacher and review twice a year
Give the master a title and a pay review that reflect teaching. Check the successor's progress against the list and adjust the plan.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. Use your own records for a defined period and note gaps in the evidence. The review may take longer if records are incomplete or spread across teams.
- Write down each master's age and what only that master can do, and who has worked beside them.
- List tools from last year that only one person could have fitted.
- Ask each apprentice which hand-fitting jobs they have done alone and which they only watched.
- Count how many hours the master spent teaching versus fitting last month.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach succession planning in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Years before, not months. Hand fitting takes years to learn, so a successor needs live jobs beside the master over a long period. Start the moment you see the age and the gap.
The fear is being replaced. Give them a recognised teaching role, a pay review that reflects it and a say in choosing the successor. Willingness follows respect.
Machines reduce some hand work but not all. Ask your fitters which tools still need judgement by feel, and plan succession for those. Do not assume the skill is disappearing.
We set up the interview and hiring process for aerospace tooling makers
Every business interviews, but few have a written process that works the same way for every role and every interviewer. GullyHR designs yours, from the role brief to the offer, trains your managers to run it, and can run it for you on the roles you hand us.