Training institute plans to train 2,000 aircraft maintenance engineers

A Shannon-based aviation training institute which has grown out of the firm formerly known as Tranaero, has announced plans to train more than 2,000 aircraft maintenance engineers over the next decade to meet a global shortage.

The move comes as the Atlantic Aviation Institute recently received approval from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) for its 24-month long training programme, which includes a year's practical experience working on aircraft.

The institute is a subsidiary of aircraft maintenance firm Atlantic Aviation Group. Former Siteserv Patrick Jordan acquired the company, which was formerly named Tranaero, from examinership in a deal valued at €2.5 million in April 2015.

The European Aviation Safety Agency-approved firm has a long history of carrying out aircraft maintenance and training onsite for firms such as Boeing and typically trains 200 people a year. Both the 2013 and 2015 world skills aircraft maintenance champions were trained at the company, which has also produced the last five Irish national skills champions.

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The Shannon Airport-headquartered group, which employs about 230 people, is now looking to cash in on its expertise by introducing its formalised programme as it continues to rebound after a troubled couple of years. Having exited examinership in 2015, Atlantic Aviation reported a pretax profit of €1.48 million la year later as revenue jumped 70 per cent to €25.1 million from €14.8 million.

Global shortage

The institute's director Caoimhe O'Donnell told The Irish Times there was an urgent need to train up maintenance technicians and engineers as the aviation industry is forecasting a global shortage of more than 600,000 maintenance engineers over the next 10 years.

“Atlantic is located in Shannon, which of course has a rich aviation history. We are an ambitious company with plans to train the next generation of aircraft maintenance technicians and engineers to meet the shortage,” said Ms O’Donnell.

She said it took the company a year to receive approval for the training, which it said would be a boast for the Irish aviation sector as a whole.

“Initially we intend to train Irish students with about 100 taking part during the first year. Ultimately though we will also be sourcing international talent to come to Shannon as well to train and we think this is great for the sector,” said Ms O’Donnell.

She added that training as an engineer was a great opportunity for young people.

“The career opportunities are endless because once you have done the training you’ll be straight on the floor and will be earning. You’re learning forever in this sector and it can take you wherever you want to go in the world,” Ms O’Donnell added.