Brisbane Qld, 5 July 2024, Aviation Australia (AA) and SriLankan Aviation College (SLAC,) Sri Lanka’s foremost Aviation training school and training arm of SriLankan Airlines signed a cooperative partnership last week for the joint delivery of the Diploma of Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (Mechanical) by Aviation Australia. This transnational aircraft maintenance engineering program provides a licensing pathway for aspiring students in the region to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 66 aircraft maintenance licence. The EASA Part 66 licenses are issued by the national aviation authorities (NAA) in Europe and is one of the most widely recognised aircraft maintenance licenses in the world.
The training will cover the EASA Part 147 approved basic training course (Category B1.1), with students completing the first 6 months of their study in Colombo, Sri Lanka before transferring to Brisbane, Australia to enrol for the Diploma of Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (Mechanical) by Aviation Australia and complete the remaining 12 months of their course, including practical training in Aviation Australia’s EASA approved Part 147 training facility and “live” aircraft maintenance training in Aviation Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) approved CAR 30 aircraft maintenance facility.
Successful students will graduate with a Diploma of Aircraft Maintenance Engineering (Mechanical) and an EASA Part 147 Certificate of Recognition. The partnership will also see the appointment of a transnational specialist training consultant based in the Aviation Australia training centre.
“Sri Lanka is a very important player in the Global aviation industry and is ideally placed to cater to the ever-growing global aircraft fleet”, stated Mr. Glenn Ryan, CEO of Aviation Australia. “Our collaboration with SriLankan Aviation College is a very important strategic partnership for our business and we look forward to working closely to develop world class engineers, trained to the very stringent EASA standard, to meet the ever-growing needs of the Global aviation industry. Our mission statement is “Delivering excellence in training to help shape the future of the aviation industry worldwide” and our partnership with SriLankan Aviation College ensures we are delivering on this goal”.
Executives from Aviation Australia were in Colombo for the signing of the auspicious agreement alongside His Excellency Paul Stephens, High Commissioner of Australia to Sri Lanka, Richard Nuttall – CEO, SriLankan Airlines, the SriLankan Aviation College team and other distinguished guests.
“This partnership with Aviation Australia to deliver a course across two global campuses, to EASA Part 147 standards, is another step in the growth of the SriLankan Aviation College. Of course, we are very well known in the South Asian region and have a strong track record of training engineers qualified under the EASA training standards. We are very pleased that we can work with Aviation Australia to now deliver a transnational training course, opening more doors for our graduates right around the world,” stated Mr. Richard Nuttall, Chief Executive Officer of SriLankan Airlines.
In addition, students from the program will also have the opportunity to further their studies to complete an accelerated Bachelor of Engineering Technology, after the completion of the Diploma.
The first intake of students in and around Sri Lanka for the joint program is scheduled to take place in September of this year. The latest Boeing aircraft technician outlook predicts that there is a global requirement for an additional 679,000 maintenance technicians, over the next 20 years. This equates to almost 34,000 per year. The world will be looking for more Aircraft Engineers and SLAC is well positioned to assist in training of Sri Lankans to fill some of these key roles.
Aviation Australia was established by the Queensland Government in 2001 to address the needs of the global aviation industry. Established in Brisbane, the company has now expanded to include campus locations across Australia and internationally. The company has also formed a joint venture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with the building of the Aviation Australia College, Riyadh, which has a capacity to train up to 5000 students per annum.
SriLankan Aviation College, the training arm of SriLankan Airlines, offers a wide range of training options to the country and the region. The college is certified by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), International Air Transport Association (IATA), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka, the Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan, the Civil Aviation Authority of Maldives and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal. It is also a member of the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAES) and the European Aviation Maintenance Training Committee (EAMTC). The college, boasting of over four decades of training excellence, collaborates with world-renowned institutions to extend comprehensive aviation and corporate training programmes.
SriLankan Airlines, the National Carrier of Sri Lanka and a member of the oneworld alliance, is an award-winning airline with a firm reputation as a global leader in service, comfort, safety, reliability, and punctuality. Launched in 1979, the airline’s hub is located at Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo providing convenient connections to its global network (including codeshare partners) of 114 destinations in 62 countries around the world. Its direct route map covers major cities across the Europe, Australia, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, South East Asia and the Far East. The Airline operates an all-Airbus fleet including a state-of-the-art A330-300 and modern A320/321neo fleet.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
AUSTRALIA
Kylie Hine
Head of Marketing and Customer Experience
Phone +61 434 184 479
www.aviationaustralia.nousuat.com.au
SRI LANKA
Jayani Senanayake
Marketing & Business Development Manager, (SriLankan Aviation College) SriLankan Airlines Ltd.
Tel: +94197331612
[email protected]
www.srilankanaviationcollege.com