AI, Boeing start finishing school for maintenance engineers

US aircraft manufacturer Boeing and Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL) on Thursday launched the Air India-Boeing Accelerated Apprenticeship Programme, a unique finishing school for aircraft maintenance engineers, which will train the first batch of 25 engineers. This is the first such collaboration between the two to set up the seed programme that can become the model for such training centres to generate skilled manpower for aircraft maintenance as Indian aviation market moves on the 20 per cent annual growth trajectory.
Launching the programme, Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said with a 7.8 growth rate, India is one of the engines of global economy, and aviation is “the engine of that engine”. Sinha said a huge manpower of skilled engineers and pilots is required to meet the growing demand as 1,000 aircraft on order from Indian airlines are delivered over the years. “There will be a demand of up to 10,000 aircraft maintenance engineers over the next 10 years to maintain and repair the aircraft,” Sinha said thanking Boeing for investing $1.25 million in equipment and training 25 engineers.
Under the accelerator programme, Beoing set up a state-of-the-art ‘smart’ classroom equipped with advanced training aids being used for the first time in India along with a specially customised curriculum created by Boeing experts to train the aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs) in India.
15/06/18 Satish Nandgaonkar/Mumbai Mirror