United Airlines has launched an in-house apprenticeship program
designed to help grow
and diversify its pipeline of Aircraft Maintenance Technicians
(AMTs).
The inaugural class will start next week in Houston as the
airline plans to train more than 1,000 people at about a dozen
locations by 2026, with the goal of at least half being women or
people of color.
Named Calibrate, the 36-month program enables
participants to ‘earn and learn’, getting paid while completing the
full-time certification and training process.
Since participants
get paid while they train, they forgo the expense of going to a
technical school, which can cost up to $50,000.
United will start accepting external applications
in early 2023.
“Calibrate is a great opportunity for people who are
interested in pursuing a rewarding career as an aircraft
technician but don’t have the resources or support they need to
attend traditional technical schools or colleges,” said Rodney uetzen, United’s Vice President of Line Maintenance. “This
program will provide life-changing opportunities, help to
diversify our workforce and give us access to an even bigger pool
of talented, qualified, motivated people.”
The
apprenticeship program, a joint effort between United, the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) and the Federal
Aviation Administration, accelerates the path toward becoming a
United AMT while also growing the airline’s ranks of Ground
Service Equipment mechanics and Facility Technicians.
United expects the second Calibrate apprentice cohort to start in
early 2023, also in Houston, and will then expand to more than a
dozen locations including San Francisco and Orlando.
The
program will focus on helping apprentices gain the skills and
knowledge required to test for and obtain their A&P Certificate,
including hands-on and classroom training.
Additionally,
participants will be mentored by United’s technicians,
building relationships and acquiring union seniority as they
progress through the program.
“The Airline Division has
done an excellent job of promoting the Aviation Maintenance
Technician craft,” said Sean O’Brien, General President of the
International Brotherhood of Teamsters. “This program creates the
diversity that the Teamsters are known for and will provide great
jobs for not only our current Teamster members, but also the next
generation.”
United has about 9,000 certified aircraft
maintenance technicians globally with combined wages and benefits
totaling more than $140,000 at the top of their pay scale.
Currently, United has Base Maintenance AMTs, Line Maintenance
AMTs, and shop-based AMTs, inspectors and other licensed
professionals at 50 locations worldwide. The airline plans to open
new line maintenance stations in Raleigh-Durham, N.C. later this
year and in Fort Myers-Southwest, FL and Nashville, Tenn. in early
2023.
