INDIANAPOLIS — Vincennes University is leveraging an influx of $4.5 million granted from the state to expand programs throughout Indiana that are meant to make it easier for Hoosiers to get jobs as aviation maintenance technicians.
The university plans to double enrollment of the Aviation Maintenance program by offering more high school dual credit offerings and offering more access to adult education programs.
“Aviation can seem to be intimidating for folks who are on the outside, they don’t’ understand how to get in. What opportunities might be there for them. But through this initiative we will be breaking into their consciousness. And we’ll get them thinking about aviation,” said Dr. Chuck Johnson, who is the university's president.
Leaders are already coordinating with high schools to offer dual-credit programs which would allow an aspiring aviation mechanics technician to be eligible to get a job just a year out of graduation. High school students can earn 16 college credits and complete the general section of the Federal Aviation Administration Airframe and Powerplant certificate while still enrolled in high school.
VU is expanding enticing pathways for aspiring aviation professionals through collaboration with industry partners, including AAR, Jet Access, FedEx, Textron, Comlux, Rolls Royce, General Electric, and Republic Airways.
Through a partnership with AAR, VU plans to fill the gap by increasing a training pipeline of highly skilled technicians through work-based learning that will lead to hundreds of new jobs.
Students will be able to apply for the new program with Vincennes University as early as next January.
The ATC underwent a $6 million renovation in recent years. The 92,000-square-foot facility has two hangars and a fleet of aircraft, including a Boeing 737-200 and a Gulfstream GIV corporate jet, as well as multiple full-motion flight simulators and stationary simulators.
