Duncan Aviation officially rolled out a formalized airframe technician maintenance apprenticeship program during a ceremony this week at its Lincoln, Nebraska headquarters. The rollout included the awarding of certificate marking the MRO provider’s program as nationally registered by the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Education.
“The aviation industry is currently seeing a workforce shortage for qualified aircraft technicians as the number of retiring certified airframe technicians is higher than the number of young adults expressing interest in the field of aircraft mechanics,” said Duncan chairman Todd Duncan. “In response, Duncan Aviation is educating young adults about the joys of choosing business aviation as a career and looking at new and different ways to introduce talented and motivated individuals to the company and the industry.”
For several years Duncan has offered apprenticeships that included on-the-job training and instruction, but no formal instruction program was in place until now. “Though it was successful, we identified areas of theoretical and practical training that would yield better results through standardization,” Duncan airframe manager Jeremy Rangel said. “We now have a true pathway to help new team members become knowledgeable, well-rounded aircraft technicians.”
Twenty-four apprentices at Duncan are currently working full-time while learning and preparing for their airframe technician certification test. They have up to two years to earn their certification under the program.