Aviation India: Careers

Chennai: It has been five months since Deepak had applied to various airline offices for a six-month internship programme, but he is yet to hear from any airline yet. On-the-job training is mandatory during the last leg of his three-year Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (AME) course. There are 60 students in his batch and except for three of them who managed to get interships in Bangalore, Calicut and Thiruvananthapuram, the rest continue to wait.
One of the reasons AME students are finding it difficult to get internships is that the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) do not want students attending to aircraft in high security zones. In other words, heightened security seems to be affecting the future prospects of AME students. And this, although airlines are facing a shortage of maintenance engineers.
Until last year, private airlines such as Air Deccan, Kingfisher Airlines, Blue Dart and others used to enroll AME students as non-paid staff. It was a win-win situation for both airlines and students. The practice, however, came to an end after AAI and BCAS raised security concerns.
"It seems you need strong recommendation to get a slot in an airline," said Deepak. Air India, for instance, received several applications this year, too. Every year it would take eight students for on-the-job training in Chennai. But none were taken this year.
"BCAS declines to provide passes to students at major airports," said an Air India official, adding, "We insist that students should pass DGCA's examination papers one, two and three on civil aviation requirements, general aviation and aircraft engines before enrolling themselves for training at different airports. More than 1,500 applications from students who have cleared DGCA's tests are pending before our Mumbai office. Recruitments have not taken place during the past two years. So, we are planning to suggest to headquarters that students can be enrolled for on-the-job training after clearing an entrance examination."
29/05/09 V Ayyappan/Times of India