To address the dearth of trained aviation engineers needed at the moment in India, national carrier Air India's engineering arm AI Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) and aircraft manufacturer Boeing, have come together to form a training centre for DGCA-trained aviation engineering students.
"We noticed that after their college training, the conversion rate of aviation mechanical engineers was a mere two per cent. Whereas each aircraft needs at least seven to eight engineers," said H.R. Jgannath, CEO, AIESL.
Aviation engineers require further training and work experience so that they get their licence to certify the fitness of an aircraft.
"Students can choose to either get engaged with any of the airlines MRO team or join this finishing school to gain the required work experience for their licence," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Manoj Sinha said.
Currently, there are more than 500 commercial aeroplanes flying over Indian skies. The number of aviation engineers to service them stand at a mere 235 in the country, according to civil aviation regulator DGCA.
"We visited an MRO's training centre and realised that there is a gap in last mile connect. We discussed with the aviation ministry and decided to set up the training centre in Mumbai to be more world class than our training centres in the US," said Pratyush Kumar, president, Boeing India.
Boeing would be providing the training equipment and technicians for the AME school, while AIESL will provide the land and building infrastructure. Once finished, this would be the first of its kind training centre addressing technical skill gaps in the aviation sector, said Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju.
