By Chris Thatcher | April 19, 2024
Estimated reading time 1 minute, 17 seconds.
Commercial, business, military — no matter your aviation sector, maintenance engineers are in demand. The personnel shortages now affecting the industry were not as pronounced over a decade ago when the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies (SIIT) introduced the province’s first Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) program. But the program has emerged as a significant contributor to the development of young talent for companies across Saskatchewan and beyond. Created with the support of the provincial and federal governments and industry, it is now in its 14th offering.
Jonathan McEvoy, a member of the Sagkeeng First Nation from Fort Alexander, Man., heads the AME program. Over a 40-year career, he served as a navigator and flight engineer in the Royal Canadian Air Force, primarily on Bell 206 and 212 helicopters, and in the offshore oil sector in the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia, flying on AW 139s and Bell 412s. He joined SIIT in 2017 because, “as a First Nation person, I wanted to give back to my community and my culture.”
Skies: AMEs are clearly in high demand. Do you have the uptake from prospective students that you might expect?
Continue reading this interview in the February/March 2024 issue of Skies magazine.
