The commencement of Aviation Australia’s first Western Australian aircraft maintenance training course has been well received, with training taking place at the new Jandakot facility.
Apprentices began their training in April, with employers reportedly impressed with the course delivery and fulfilment of local industry needs.
Three Aviair apprentices are currently undertaking the course in Jandakot.
“Prior to Aviation Australia’s facility in Western Australia, the training situation for aviation apprentices was deplorable. There was no government funded registered training organisation (RTO) in Western Australia delivering Part 66 licence outcomes,” Sheridan Austin, group quality manager at Aviair, said.
The launch of the Jandakot based training has enabled employers such as Aviair to educate their apprentices, providing them with an academic and regulatory pathway that is also supported by the West Australian government.
“It is very important to us to have our apprentices attain a Part 66 outcome, not only for their careers but also for the longevity of our engineering departments and indeed the industry,” Sheridan said.
Another recognised employer benefit is that the apprentice block release training is subsidised under “Jobs and Skills WA”, through the Department of Training and Workforce Development.
“Whilst our apprentices are based in Broome and Kununurra, Jandakot is accessible to our apprentices through the support of Aviation Australia and through Jobs and Skills WA, who are subsidising travel and accommodation costs for our apprentices,” Sheridan added.
The new facility is located on Mustang Road, Jandakot Airport as part of a shared facility with Jandakot Instruments & Avionics.
“The new facility is ideally suited to our needs with plenty of space for both theory and practical aspects of our training courses,” Aviation Australia business development manager Paul Jones said.
The next block training will be taking place in September 2018.