THUNDER BAY – On Friday, Confederation College’s Aviation Centre of Excellence hosted two Royal Canadian Air Force aircraft and personnel.
A CF-18 Hornet and a C-130 Hercules were on display for students to check out.
Matt Bunn, Associate Dean School of Aviation at Confederation College, said students had a unique experience on Friday.
“The Royal Canadian Air Force is currently going across Canada on a recruitment campaign, looking for aircraft maintenance technicians,” he said.
Confederation College offers two aviation programs, Bunn said.
“We have a flight management program and an aircraft maintenance program," he added. “Graduates of the flight management program earn a commercial pilot's license, whereas graduates from the aircraft maintenance program earn a diploma and some time towards aircraft maintenance license.
“They've got a unique experience, as I said, to see some real Canadian Air Force aircraft up close and personal.”
Bunn said students are also receiving a presentation from the recruitment team with the Air Force, learning about different career opportunities that they could take after they leave the program at the college.
“We have a lot of first year and second year students that got to see the aircraft and speak with the members of the forces," he added.
“I think that really helps them see a picture of themselves in the future . . . it's a tough program to get through, but you can get through and you can have a very unique career such as what these folks do, which is maintaining aircraft all over the world."
Kate Ballard, Master Corporal in the RCAF and specialist recruiter for the Air Maintenance branch, said she was at the event to talk to students about paid education opportunities.
Ballard said it’s called the NCMSTEP (Non-Commissioned Member Subsidized Training and Education Plan) program, where students can have the option to be employed with the RCAF while there are still students.
“We have options for students to join while they're still in the school so they can study," Ballard added. "Their tuition, their books, their tools, everything is funded by the Royal Canadian Air Force. In addition, they're also making a salary to attend the program.
“Once they graduate, they have a guaranteed job working with us and they get to work in the field doing aircraft maintenance with the Royal Canadian Air Force."
This program has been going on for several years under the NCMSTEP program, she said.
“We have a partnership here with Confederation College," Ballard added. "We also have partnerships with other aircraft maintenance colleges that are Transport Canada accredited across the whole country.
“In terms of this specific program, there's a lot of opportunity for them to gain skills on aircraft. It's really incredible when we get to see students coming out with technical expertise to employ on our fleets all across the country.”
Ballard said that it's really important that students have the opportunity to develop their technical expertise and be able to be employed in the field in aviation.
“It's incredible when people find that path into aviation, but it's not always an easy thing unless you already know the route into the programs," Ballard said.
“It's absolutely crucial when we have the opportunity to show off some of our technical expertise with the personnel we bring. It gives students the opportunity to see the kind of work that they could do in the field.”
Ballard spoke with some of the first-year students who were beginning with their hand tool unit.
“When they get to learn how to use hand tools and get to see how that knowledge is applied in a technical field and see the aircraft that they're going to get to work on one day, or the types of aircraft they could work on one day. It gives them a lot of motivation as they pursue their technical studies,” she added.
Visit forces.ca, for more information about NCMSTEP as well as other opportunities in paid education and for graduates.
