A new cross-state partnership aims to provide students with a clear path to success while also creating a pipeline of work-ready individuals for employment at Airbus Helicopters.

With East Mississippi Community College, Airbus and the company’s education center, Flight Works Alabama, joining together to offer specialized training in aviation manufacturing, the first cohort of 10 students will be fully prepared to start careers in the industry, specifically at Airbus, by August.

“This is not an internship. It is a preemployment training program,” Kellie Andrews, a consultant with Flight Works Alabama, told The Dispatch. “Once they graduate from this (classroom portion) in 10 weeks, they will become an apprentice at Airbus for approximately 14 to 16 months, but they’re an employee on day one.”

Andrews said the program is modeled after FlightPath9, which specifically prepares students to hold positions at Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Mobile. Since it started in 2021, close to 300 students have graduated from the program, with many of them still employed at Airbus today, Andrews said.

“Some of them have moved into management and some of them just love what they do,” she said. “We have so many success stories.”

Applicants selected for the program start in June with 10 weeks of classroom training through EMCC’s Aviation Manufacturing Technology program, where they are trained in several aviation certifications, including mechanical and electronic torque and structural sheetmetal assembly.

Along with an EMCC certificate, the students receive about 15 industry-recognized certificates, Andrews said.

While the program is specifically designed to prepare students for jobs with Airbus, EMCC Workforce Business Outreach Training Manager Ray Hollis said many of the skills they learn are transferable to other manufacturing applications.

“Incorporating these learning opportunities that are tied with that credential just adds another layer of value to the training for applicants,” he said.

As students progress through the program and earn more certificates, Hollis said the sense of achievement they feel helps to build confidence.

“(That) is a huge part of getting people in the right mindset,” he said. “Each time you have a success or a win where you gain this new credential, it should create a want for that next level. It should lead to continued growth in the workplace.”

After classroom training, the cohort begins an apprenticeship program with Airbus. Modeled after the Mobile facility program, apprentices work as trainees for a little more than a year while also receiving full employee benefits, Andrews said.

While they’re working in the facility, mentors provide students with support. It’s another way to ensure the students successfully complete both the classroom and apprenticeship portions of the program, Hollis said.

“If they’re having problems in this initial phase or they’re struggling or there are some things we need to work on, they’ll have that support one-on-one while they’re going through this training, and then that’s going to continue on when they go to actual work at Airbus Helicopters because they’ll have that mentor,” he said.

After 14 to 16 months, the students graduate and start a full-time job with Airbus immediately.

“They will complete the apprenticeship and be able to basically sign off on their own work,” Andrews said. “They will be well-prepared to work independently.”

Andrews said the program isn’t for a specific age group, but it targets early-career individuals with less than four years of experience in the industry.

With a combination of classroom training, hands-on training and mentorship, Hollis hopes the program will give students both the technical skills and resources they need to thrive in the aviation industry.

“My desire and EMCC’s desire is to have participants be successful through training, give them all the tools that they need, give them the resources that they need as well and then the support during and after the training,” he said.

McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.