MANILA, Philippines - In the aviation industry worldwide, skilled workers in aircraft structure repair are in high and constant demand.
To address this, the Technical Educational Skills Development Authority (TESDA) introduces a technical vocational course in aircraft maintenance, conducted by aviation company Aerotechnik Services and the Mechatronics Robotics Society of the Philippines (MRSP).
The ATM (Aerotechnik TESDA MRSP) Aircraft Training Center was specifically established for conducting skills training in aircraft maintenance.
“We are pursuing high-end technology courses so we can train more Filipinos for highly specialized occupations,” says TESDA director general Augusto Syjuco. “Multinational employers favor Filipino workers for their positive work attitude and work ethic. Equipped with technical skills, our workers have more opportunities abroad.”
Jesus Lim of Aerotechnik Services, assistant vice president for training, reports that the center has received over 1,000 applicants for the P40,000 scholarship.
“We are taking in 250 students under full scholarship for the 720-hour training,” notes Lim. “Around 80 percent of the course hours will be hands-on training.”
The newly-inaugurated aircraft training center boasts of expert trainors, and is also equipped with complete facilities for sheet metal structure repair as well as an actual fuselage of a DC-9 jet aircraft to be used as a training model. Students will be trained to repair commercial planes such as B747, L1011, B777, B737, MD-90, MD-11, Airbus-300 and Airbus 330.
“By the end of the course, the graduates will form a group of all-Filipino aircraft structural mechanics capable of overhauling any type of aircraft,” Lim asserts.
A bright future awaits course graduates, as the center has an established network of contacts in the industry to refer their graduates to. Employment opportunities are plentiful outside the country, with pay commensurate to the mechanic’s skill level.
“Filipino airlines will no longer need to send their planes abroad for repairs if we have enough mechanics here to do the job,” says Lim. “Abroad, the starting pay ranges from $800-$1000, which increases as they gain experience.”
With this training facility, TESDA is confident that the Philippines will become a highly competitive aircraft maintenance and repair center in Asia.