Last month, the Stevenson Southport Campus at RRC Polytech hosted AME Day, a day dedicated to showcasing the Apprenticeship Aircraft Maintenance Engineer program to youth and demonstrating the potential rewarding careers students could experience in Aircraft Maintenance.

Over 260 Grade 8 students from Portage la Prairie School Division and Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation had the opportunity to take part in Aircraft Maintenance activities hosted by industry professionals.

Nigel Louis, Chair, Aircraft Maintenance Programs, provided remarks at noon along with Ian Wishart, MLA for Portage la Prairie; Sharilyn Knox, Portage la Prairie Mayor; Darryl Dowd, Chief Operating Officer for Southport Aerospace Centre Inc.; Jaff Viloria, DaHavilland Representative; and Riley Kintscher, Canadian Helicopters Limited Apprentice, both RRC Polytech alumni.

During his remarks, Louis shared a story: at the first AME Day in 2018, a student sat in the very same audience and learned about what he could do as a future Aircraft Maintenance Engineer. He was inspired by the speakers he heard and decided to pursue a career in the aviation and aerospace sector. Today, he is enrolled in the Apprentice Aircraft Maintenance Engineer program at RRC Polytech. One industry speaker he heard that day was Chevy Peters, who is now his boss and was among the many speakers at the 2018 AME Day.

Students were divided into morning and afternoon sessions to explore different stations featuring an Aircraft Hydraulic System, Composites, Flight, Daily Inspection, a Helicopter Cyclic Pitch Simulator, a Train Mock-Up and Aircraft Wheel Replacement. Station leads were a range of aircraft maintenance professionals from Portage Aircraft Services, Canadian Helicopter Limited, KF Aerospace, Eagle Wings Flight School, and RRC Polytech.

The Apprenticeship Aircraft Maintenance program is designed to help students attain Transport Canada approved training status, 48 months of aviation maintenance work experience, and three technical examinations required to obtain an AME license.

AME Day 2023 was a huge success and students left with a strong understanding of the incredible opportunities that await them should they choose to pursue careers in the aviation and aerospace industry, and how RRC Polytech can help them get there.

For more information about the AME Program, visit our catalogue here.