The Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows School District is now offering Aircraft Maintenance Engineer as one of the trades programs available to students.
Aircraft Maintenance Engineer is one of many trades programs open to students in the district, although, noted Brad Dingler, trades and apprenticeships coordinator with SD42, seats are limited.
He said the SD42 trades training department wants to expand opportunities for students in every avenue and are moving into more technical trades.
"We want to allow students to give them a skill set that makes them marketable individuals. Individuals that have something to offer beyond a Dogwood Certificate," he said.
Not only will they have a Dogwood when they graduate, but they will also have specialized training in whatever field that they want, he added.
Aircraft maintenance is Transport Canada certified.
Only one seat was available for the program this year and it was scooped up by Pitt Meadows Secondary Grade 12 student Alexis Hodacsek after writing the logic and reasoning pre-entrance exam.
"It gives me a kick-start off into my life pretty early," she said in a SD42 video about the program.
"Being an aircraft maintenance engineer we are able to completely strip down an aircraft and rebuild it back up. And we do mainly structural work. It's basically like bringing your car into an auto body shop, but it's an aircraft instead," added Hodacsek.
And her instructor Abbas Mojarrab is encouraged to see younger generations in the field, who are high performing.
"It does enable students to get a jump start," said Dingler, noting that they are able to secure seats in different programs depending on interest.
Once students graduate from high school, they might be on a wait list to enter a program like this, he added.
The Aircraft Maintenance Engineer course is in partnership with the British Columbia Institute of Technology's (BCIT) Aerospace Technology Campus.
Students have to make their own way to Vancouver International Airport for the course, where they will be in a classroom of students of varying ages and they are expected to perform at the level of a post secondary student.
The curriculum for these programs are rigorous, noted Dingler.
Attendance, attitude, and academics are their three key cores of success, he said.
Other trades available to students are: marine fitter; ironworker; autobody; heavy duty mechanic; millwright; HVAC; and welder.
Aircraft Maintenance Engineer will be available for students to apply for this coming September. Those who are interested must express interest at their school career centres and then contact Dingler to schedule the pre-entrance exam to BCIT – which, he said, they can take within the district in a private setting.
"Post secondaries like to partner with us because we can tailor the programs to the students' passion. That's what we want to do. That results in greater success," Dingler added.
"We hope in the future to explore and expand into those specialized options for students."
