A recent visit from Robin Moore, Manager of Human Services at Viking Air in Victoria, and subsequent site visit to Bill Alder’s Sealand Aviation in Campbell River, serves to under-score a pressing need in the province. Good aircraft structural technicians are scarce and both Viking and Sealand want NIC’s graduates.
Moore confesses that NIC’s Aircraft grads are exceptional and she appreciates the grads can step right into the job and be productive. Alder concurs with Moore’s assessment and would like to keep grads in Campbell River, hopefully at his facility. Both agree that NIC’s program is closely connected to the aircraft industry and they value the skill level that makes NIC’s grads ready from the ‘get go’.
The Aircraft Structures Technician program is still considered a relatively new program at the College. It is located in Campbell River at the College’s Vocational and Technical Centre on Vigar road. The nine-month full-time program is designed to provide the skills and knowledge needed in all aspects of aircraft sheet metal work. The current class will graduate in June with a new class starting in September.
With Viking Air expanding they anticipate they will hire at least 40 aircraft techs in the next three months. Sealand, located at the Campbell River Airport, is always on the outlook for good employees so it appears as though the college grads will have assured employment.
Never one to fall behind the industry, instructor Ruedi Pletscher is respected by industry and students alike. Last year’s graduating class developed a much needed instrument for the industry – a Cessna Balance Beam. It turns out it is the most user friendly balance beam around. It is required in the balancing of control surfaces on the airplane structure. The class donated a balance beam to Lindair services (Cessna dealer in Vancouver) and to Sealand. The instrument has caught the attention of several other companies so may become more widely used in the industry.
Instructor Pletscher is pleased that the balance beam is well received. “It is just one of many instruments that we use in the program. I think this is an example of what makes our program unique. We work closely with industry, we knew this was needed and so we built it for their use and ours”.
For information on NIC’s Aircraft Structures Technician program please visit www.nic.bc.ca. Students are advised to apply to the program early.
Picture top: left to right: Bill Alder, Sealand Aviation; Robin Moore, Viking Air; Students: Randy Malbon, Darrell Bomback, Dan McFadyen, Dan Booton, Mike Wood,kneeling is Benjamin Peters; far right Ruedi Pletscher, NIC Instructor
Picture bottom: Ruedi Pletscher, NIC Instructor and Bill Alder, Sealand Aviation with Balance Beam
- 30 -
For further information contact:
Susan Toresdahl
Director College Relations
(250) 334-5271
Download High-Resolution Image for Print Media
(Windows compressed .zip)