LOVELAND — Aims Community College students can now apply for a new aircraft maintenance training center program, which will begin in January next to the Northern Colorado Regional Airport.
Aims students can earn an associate’s degree in two years to be an aircraft maintenance technician, the college said in a press release. They’ll be at the new $21.8 million aviation-technology center at the airport.
The Greeley-based college’s board of trustees approved the plan in November 2023. Aims’ 35,000-square-foot Aircraft Maintenance and Training Center is at the Discovery Air Aviation Campus at the airport in Loveland.
The new degree comes as the airline industry faces a shortage for aircraft mechanics, said Eric Himler, executive director of aviation programs at Aims. Federal Aviation Administration data project a shortage of 25,000 aircraft technicians in the United States by 2028, according to the release.
“While everyone who travels can feel there’s a pilot shortage, the need for aircraft mechanics is even greater,” Himler said in the release.
Part of the reason for the projected shortage is that current technicians are getting older, Michael Sasso, director of the aircraft maintenance program at Aims, said in the release.
“This is a long and lucrative career path, and now is the time to train the next generation of skilled technicians,” Sasso said.
Students will learn to research, troubleshoot and repair aircraft. When they graduate, they’ll be ready to take a series of FAA-written national certification exams. Students also will use virtual and augmented reality tools and avionics labs to learn skills, the release said.
Students in the program are eligible for federal financial aid, veteran education benefits and industry scholarships.
