A NEW study offers timely advice and counsel: Washington is a tough, able competitor for keeping and growing Boeing jobs, but the key is swift, bold action.

Last week, the news only got better and better with the commitment by Lion Air, the Indonesian airline, to buy 230 Boeing 737s, with an option for 150 more planes.

Heads were still spinning over the $18 billion order by Emirates Airlines for 50 Boeing 777s.

The moment was perfect for a reality check about the work ahead for Washington state to keep and attract more aerospace business. No one is taking these opportunities — and the tens of thousands of jobs they represent — for granted.

Washington Aerospace Partnership, a consortium of business, labor and government to help promote aerospace manufacturing, reported the findings of the Aerospace Competitiveness Study: Boeing 737 MAX Opportunities.

The future is directly tied to Washington's ability to grow and sustain the qualified workforce that produces the world's best airplanes. Boeing needs more engineers and there must be a focused effort to strengthen certification and apprenticeship programs for technical jobs.

Boeing planes, and the employment they fuel in Washington, face intense competition from Brazil, China, Canada, Russia and Japan. That is the challenge.

Washington boasts a workforce of high efficiency, quality and productivity, but the necessity to improve and expand our engineering and manufacturing skills is as ceaseless as the competition.

Those challengers for the 737 MAX and other lines face daunting new construction costs and the complexity of moving final assembly farther away from wing and other fabrication activities, the partnership points out.

Gov. Chris Gregoire took nothing for granted last week as she proposed investments in expanded enrollment for engineering students, more aerospace research on state campuses and more money for aerospace curriculum in high schools.

Lots of very good news inspired calls for bold, swift action — and state leaders responded.