Mcast aviation maintenance training attracts SR Technics

There are several reasons why SR Technics, a leading global provider of aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul, is planning to set up a new maintenance facility in Malta. One was because the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology (Mcast) is able to provide the standards of training prescribed by the company.

SR Technics offers total solution packages to airlines such as aircraft checks, engine overhaul or component management and repair through an extensive network of maintenance facilities. It recently secured a long term contract to service all the Easyjet fleet.

Discussions with SR Technics started last summer when the company's senior management visited Mcast to verify the type of training the college was able to offer. The company was impressed by the standards in place, which include a qualified team of technicians, lecturers and assessors, fully-equipped maintenance workshops and assessment instruments, including examinations and quality assurance procedures.

SR Technics' favourable impression of the college led to a series of follow-up meetings and eventually the decision to establish a major, up-to-date technical provision on the island which is expected to create 350 jobs by 2014.

Mcast principal and CEO Maurice Grech said SR Technics' decision to come to Malta was no coincidence, but the result of a combined effort by several key players including the government, Malta Enterprise, the Department of Civil Aviation, Lufthansa Technik and the college itself. He added that the contribution made by these various partners had also paved the way for Mcast to acquire the licence to operate as a training provider.

With regard to aircraft maintenance, in 2004 Lufthansa Technik pioneered the provision of technical aircraft services in Malta which was then a totally new initiative locally. The company provided Mcast valuable advice to help set up the project, which included the design and validation of training programmes firstly for staff, and later for students.

Mcast's state-of-the-art aviation maintenance training centre is in fact designed to international standards. The centre boasts two dedicated training workshops, one for basic training and one for sheet metal training. All facilities and resources in the centre as well as members of staff are audited and approved by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA). Mcast is today an approved European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part-147 training organisation. The college has a licence to provide internationally recognised Part 66 category A training and certification. This allows the Mcast training centre to deliver basic training at Category A and to conduct examinations on the subjects taught on behalf of the DCA. The college has already initiated the process for obtaining approval to deliver and examine courses at Category B level.

In August 2008 the aviation maintenance training centre started to benefit from an EU co-financed project as a result of which it will extend its training material and workshop facilities. This will include the purchase of a grounded aircraft which will provide students and lecturing staff with the ultimate in terms of desirable training facilities. The design of the training envisaged, the examinations and quality assurance procedures are already being discussed.

To date, the college has already trained over 200 students who are now working in the MRO sector, while another 263 students are currently enrolled on Mcast's full-time and part-time courses.

Presently, the college offers five courses in aviation maintenance. The Mcast-Btec First Diploma in Mechanical Engineering (Aircraft Maintenance Mechanics) and the Aircraft Structure and Repair course, which are aimed at students who wish to acquire skills in the repair of aircraft structures and composites.

The category A licence course trains students as aircraft mechanics, after which they become eligible to apply for the EASA Part-66 licence through the DCA.

Mcast also offers two aircraft maintenance technician courses, namely the category B1 (mechanical technician for the turbine aircraft) and the category B2 (Avionics Technician) courses. Successful students will be eligible to apply for the relative licences through the DCA.

Candidates shall sit for examinations with the local authority and shall complete the requested experience in an approved maintenance, repair and overhaul facility.

Ronald Curmi, quality manager of the aviation maintenance training courses, welcomed the new investment: "We feel a broader base in the aviation maintenance training industry will lead to more opportunities for our students and a stronger Maltese economy."

Mario Galea, chief officer for business development at Malta Enterprise, said "SR Technics will continue to broaden our aviation cluster (which is) already made up of first-class names. It will provide the opportunity for many young people to work in a challenging environment in a world class firm."

Prof. Grech said: "Mcast's success in providing high-quality personnel specialised in aviation maintenance has put the college on the international map in the field of aviation maintenance training.

He added that having a college which is able to provide adequately trained personnel in an area which is so closely regulated is a signpost of quality that is likely to attract further foreign direct investment to the country, thus creating more training options for our young people and better jobs for Malta.

"Since its inception in 2001, the college has done its utmost to fulfil this mission 'to provide a universally accessible vocational and professional education and training with an international dimension, responsive to the needs of the individual and the economy'. By providing well-trained personnel to industry it is making a valuable contribution to the economy."