Thank you very much for the question.
We saw some significant challenges through COVID-19. I don't think it's any surprise to anyone on this committee that aerospace took a disproportionate hit from the impacts of COVID-19.
I think the latest numbers we saw were that about 3,500 jobs were lost in the sector. These are high-quality, highly skilled, good-paying jobs. I think they're 30% higher than the average manufacturing job. They are quite good jobs. We're very concerned about that. We do see a bounce-back. It's coming sooner in maintenance, repair, overhaul and manufacturing, which is a good sign.
For long-term viability, we need to find the people. We need to make sure that we have a good pipeline of talent coming into the industry. That's where I think veterans are very well placed for this piece. I should say that we as an industry are committed to working with the government and this committee to make sure we're securing employment for veterans.
We see this happening on an organic basis already. There are some challenges there. We talked about the awareness piece. We talked about the colleges and the upskilling pieces. I'm very pleased to see the committee looking at the need for a strategy.
Another thing we've been calling for is a broader—