Honolulu Community College and Hawaiian Airlines are expanding their partnership with the launch of the Maintenance Technician Development Program, a new initiative to train and hire the next generation of aircraft maintenance technicians.
Students in the college’s Aeronautics Maintenance Technology Program can apply for stipends, exam fee reimbursements and mentorship from Hawaiian mechanics, along with a conditional job offer at the airline — part of a broader push to fill positions in a field facing nationwide shortages.
The program, which began Sept. 3, arrives at a time when the aviation industry is grappling with a shortage of certified aircraft mechanics, as many veteran technicians near retirement.
Hawaiian executives say the demand is particularly acute in the islands, where the carrier operates a major maintenance base at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
“A program like this, a formal program that creates a pipeline to bring those technicians into Hawaiian Airlines — it’s super important anytime, but it’s especially important right now,” Hawaiian Airlines CEO Joe Sprague told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
He added that having a trained local workforce is essential to supporting the airline’s large operations in Honolulu, its second-largest hub in the combined Hawaiian-Alaska network.
Through the Maintenance Technician Development Program (MTDP), selected students will receive a $10,500 stipend and up to $1,800 in reimbursement for the cost of certification exams, which can be a steep barrier for many. Participants also will be paired with Hawaiian Airlines mechanics for mentorship, and upon graduation, receive a conditional job offer with the company.
For Honolulu CC Chancellor Karen Lee, the partnership marks another step toward making higher education directly responsive to the workforce needs of the state. She noted that the exam fees alone can run $750 to $800, and the financial support may mean the difference between students finishing their training or stalling out.
“It’s really big for our students,” she said. “When an airline like Hawaiian Airlines says, ‘we’re investing in you,’ they’re more apt to stay here. Our students really connect to people, knowing somebody cares about them, wants to work with them, wants them to stay in Hawaii, is really a huge boost.”
Lee said more students are turning to programs like AERO after earning bachelor’s degrees in other fields, drawn by the promise of hands-on skills that lead directly to jobs. Honolulu CC has already forged partnerships with the Department of Defense, Hawaiian Electric, Johnson Controls and others to align training with high-demand industries.
“We try to take our cues from industry,” Lee said. “When we see that there are more jobs paying living wages, then we want to train students for those.”
The new program builds on an earlier collaboration between Hawaiian Airlines and Honolulu CC. In 2016, the two launched the Aircraft Mechanic Apprenticeship Program (AMAP), which gives students the chance to work part time at Hawaiian’s maintenance hangar while taking classes. Apprentices are paid hourly wages, begin building seniority at the airline and can transition to full-time positions once certified.
Today, Hawaiian employs about 570 mechanics, including more than 50 AMAP graduates.
Students may apply to both MTDP and AMAP but must choose one if accepted. While AMAP offers early immersion in the workforce, MTDP is structured to provide more financial breathing room for students to complete their studies and licensing requirements.
For students already in the AERO program, the new option is energizing.
Diego Serrano, 23, of Honolulu, is in his third semester and expects to graduate next spring.
A Moanalua High School graduate, he previously trained as an automotive technician but said aviation better matched his passion for public safety.
“I wouldn’t want my family on that flight if I didn’t know it wasn’t safe,” he said. “I wanna make sure people are safe.”
Another student, 28-year-old Neil Patrick Nuevo of Waipahu, said his path to aircraft maintenance began with a dream of flying helicopters.
After training for a pilot license and working in customer service at Island Air, he shifted gears, earning a commercial driver’s license while on the waitlist for Honolulu CC’s program.
Once admitted, he found the technical work suited him even more than flying.
“It’s pretty fun,” he said. “Almost like a trade school — you can go into the field right after.”
Both Serrano and Nuevo said they hope to remain in Hawaii after graduating. That sentiment is echoed across the program, Lee said, and makes Hawaiian’s investment in local training especially impactful.
For Hawaiian Airlines, creating a stable workforce pipeline is about more than mechanics. The company recently launched a pilot development program and expects to hire more than 400 new flight attendants this year, along with hundreds of airport agents and other employees. But maintenance technicians remain among the most critical positions to fill.
Sprague said the proximity of Honolulu CC to the airport makes collaboration natural.
“It’s directly a part of that commitment,” he said. “They don’t have to drive or fly somewhere to get to where they can actually have a chance to practice their skills. They just have to drive around the airport and they can see firsthand what’s happening.”
As the airline industry prepares for a wave of retirements and ongoing global growth, Sprague said Hawaii’s future hinges on programs like MTDP to prepare a new generation of workers.
“We want to create good jobs for people that not only live here, but also that are from here, that have grown up here, and so to create a workforce pipeline like this for people to get trained and just stay here in the islands is especially important,” he said.
Source: The Garden Island
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