The ongoing aircraft mechanics shortage has prompted West Star Aviation to open a maintenance school called West Star Aviation Academy (WSAA) in January at its facility in East Alton, Illinois, the company said.
West Star plans to hire 25 apprentices who will spend seven and a half months learning and earning wages and benefits. They will receive hands-on practical training, mentoring, and job shadowing in preparation for their FAA license tests.
Under a partnership with West Star, Southwestern Illinois College will run WSAA through its Part 147 FAA-approved curriculum at a dedicated learning hangar that incorporates the newly developed Choose Aerospace curriculum and proprietary West Star technical training. West Star says WSAA will accelerate the skill development to certify new technicians more quickly than the industry’s traditional 18- to 30-month apprenticeship programs.
“We are very excited to offer a branded training program leveraging our community educational partners to provide a direct career pathway for those aspiring to be an AMT,” said West Star Aviation CEO Jim Rankin. “For apprentices, it’s an opportunity to make a living while learning a highly skilled technical trade in less than a year. For West Star Aviation, WSAA will help ensure that we continually have a strong pipeline of skilled and licensed technicians to deliver industry-leading MRO services to business aviation customers worldwide.”
After graduating from WSAA, newly licensed AMTs will put their knowledge into practice alongside senior technicians working on in-service aircraft. AMTs will continue receiving additional learning and training opportunities to continually grow their skills. “WSAA ensures a complete standard of formal education, practical hands-on training, and on-the-job training to enhance the work-readiness of new technicians, while substantially increasing our access to qualified talent to meet our ongoing customer needs for service work,” noted West Star vice president of human resources Katie Johnson.