By TIM UNRUH
Salina Airport Authority
Job openings in aviation maintenance translates to more interest as students seek certification and degrees in that major at Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus.
Late in 2019, a couple months after 1Vision Aviation opened in the Salina Regional Airport, K-State Poly had fewer than 10 students enrolled in aviation maintenance.
Now there are 55 to 60, said Prof. Terry Hunt, aviation department chair, who is both a pilot and an airframe and power plant mechanic.
“Aviation maintenance has always been important,” he said. “These airplanes are highly sophisticated. It’s just an exciting career, a lucrative career and you make a great salary.”
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Having 1Vision within walking distance of the campus is a benefit to the program, said Andrew Smith, professor of aviation at K-State Poly in a November 2019 story. A number of professional pilot and aviation maintenance students have landed part-time jobs at 1Vision, where they receive real-world experience.
“We’re excited that 1Vision is hiring. We’re seeing that trend across the industry,” Hunt said. “Maybe we can send some of our graduates their way.”
K-State Poly will be doing “a lot of recruiting” to technologically minded persons for those careers, he said.
“We’re going to get into the high schools and let juniors and seniors know the career is out there,” Hunt said. “We’re starting to see an uptick in enrollment.”
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The above story was republished with permission from the Salina Airport Authority.