TRAINING of apprentices for the aviation industry is under way at a new regional hub at London Luton Airport.
The hub has been opened by Resource Group, Europe’s leading aviation skills business, in the former Monarch Airlines Engineering Training Academy. It is being run in collaboration with the British School of Aviation and is expected to make a significant contribution to the industry’s demand for maintenance skills needed to sustain the aviation sector in the future.
The project involved a £55,000 investment to create a large classroom for up to 26 students and an extensively refurbished practical training workshop. The hub welcomed its first group of apprentices in October.
Ian Fitzpatrick, managing director of Resource Group – Training Solutions, said: “As the aviation industry has reopened, there has been an immediate and growing need to recruit and train new talent. This project is part of Resource Group’s response to the significant challenge facing our industry.”
Apprentices from airlines including TUI, easyJet, DHL and Harrods Aviation, will spend the first year of their two-year apprenticeship programme with Resource Group in Luton, undertaking practical and classroom-based training to gain the relevant skills and qualifications to become Cat A Maintenance Certifying Mechanics.
Mr Fitzpatrick said the support of British School of Aviation, also based at London Luton, has enabled the group to open the facility and bring in several new airline clients to the programme.
BSA executive director Anoop Singh Bamrah said the new apprentice training hub will bring new skills and opportunities to Luton and the surrounding area. The school runs courses for pilots, engineers and cabin crew and the partnership with Resource Group is taking advantage of the synergy with BSA’s established Part 147 Type Training engineering courses.
Mr Singh Bamrah said: “This collaboration allows seamless progression for any employer wishing to progress their apprentices all the way to their chosen aircraft type. The BSA product portfolio is ever increasing with further types coming online and we stand ready to support the apprentice employers with the huge opportunities that this collaboration presents.
“The new facility is situated on the grounds of the former Monarch Airlines Engineering Training Academy so it is really rewarding to see the building being used once again for theoretical and practical training as part of aviation maintenance apprenticeships.”
Mr Fitzpatrick said: “Our post-pandemic, regional training initiative is designed to bring our training offering closer to our client base, with the sole aim of significantly reducing the burden of apprentice accommodation costs at a time when the industry is largely in recovery mode.”
