Apprenticeships
Who is the Apprentice Model for?
Some of us are thinkers. Some are hands-on. Some are good with our hands and some of us think fast on our feet.
But a lot of you are not cut out for university or other academic routes. So how do you find ways to enter Aviation with your skill set?. Maybe you are:
- A Mechanically Minded “hands-on” student.
- A Professional who wants to “Earn and Learn”.
- A practical person who learns best when “On-the-Job”.
- Someone happy to work and learn in a “Live” environment while also studying.
If you, or your son, or daughter or a mentee are looking at apprenticeships, then there are key things you need to understand.
- While this is not an academic route, there will be study. And classes.
- Employers offering positions have specific goals they want you to complete.
- Degree courses are available. So are aircraft licenses.
- State or Country finance is available to the employer. And you.
How Apprenticeships Work
Apprenticeships are normally aimed at 16-24 year old’s but more recently companies have no limits or offer routes to folks from pre-defined categories such as gender, ethnicity, or background.
So while its impossible for us to cover all aspects, we hope this page shows the depth and breadth of apprenticeship opportunities. Engineering, Airline, Airport, MRO and Finance are all available.
The Apprentice Model
One area we want to also promote is ESG (Environment, Sustainability and Governance) where people from all sectors are needed. Especially in sustainability.
The model is simple. Individuals receive a salary, an academic or vocational qualification, while gaining hands-on training and experience in the area you have chosen.
But apprenticeships are not limited. They can lead to degrees, Masters and PHD’s if the route permits. There are also formal licenses that can be acquired. This is most common in the engineering space where Aircraft and Engine specific licenses (for example EASA Part 66 or FAA A&P licenses)
The Department of Labor in the U.S. have a great resource on apprenticeships. There’s also this site for UK residents. For European citizens you can take a look at this resource.
Registered Apprenticeships
Just make sure the program is state approved and supported.
The apprenticeship program should be approved and that means registered. For U.S. citizens they can verify the program is registered. But again, just pop “Apprenticeships” and your country’s name into Google and you shouldn’t have an issue.
Making sure the program is registered means that you have access to available grants and the course itself is both validated and fit for purpose. That the pathways are good for the role and that good QA practices have been applied to both the OTJ (on-the-job) and study portions.
Where to find Apprenticeships
And not just on the Engineering/Maintenance side. Airlines, Airports and Militaries all have programs. And most have support from their national infrastructure.
Because it’s not possible to list every program or apprenticeship route, we just want to show you a range of programs in the hope it will give you ideas for your own district. In addition, there are great resources at each of these sites that can provide invaluable decision-making resources.
- The US Department of Labor’s dedicated apprenticeship page is a great start.
- Apprenticeship.gov, however, is a US dedicated site for routes and programs. Don’t forget to check which programs are registered.
- Apprenticeship.go.uk is the United Kingdom version. But a great site and Ux approach dedicated to its intended audience. Helping both candidates and employers in a way that’s cool.
- For the rest of the EU there’s the European Alliance for Apprenticeships. You can go ahead and check your country’s commitments at the EC Mobility Hub.
- Amazing Apprenticeships is another great UK resource. Why? because it is intended for kids, parents and mentors who need to learn about this route for others. With educational packs, webinars, and courses.
- Institute for Apprenticeships is an organization (again UK based) doing an excellent job of informing candidates around the educational pathways and qualifications.
- Notgoingtouni is a way to find routes and programs with employers who advertise their apprentice roles.
- If you are interested in being an aviation mechanic in the EU, here’ the EASA page on the OJT route for a Part-66 License.
- Across the world, City & Guilds are a great resource for OJT roles and their academic portions. Here’s a link to their aviation maintenance resource.
Employer Programs
- The Airbus Apprenticeship and Pupil program
- The Royal Navy Air Engineering program
- Qantas Airlines engineering apprenticeship program
- British Airways Apprenticeship program
- GE Engineering Program
- Ryanair Engineering Apprenticeship Program
- Washington Metropolitan Apprenticeship program
- Heathrow Airport Engineering Apprenticeship program
- Lockheed Martin Apprenticeship program
- KLM Airlines Engineering apprenticeships
- BAE Systems Apprenticeship Program
- Virgin Atlantic Apprenticeships
- South African Airways technical apprentice program
