Lansing Community College partners with Delta on aviation maintenance program

Lansing Community College partners with Delta on aviation maintenance program

LANSING — A Mid-Michigan community college has partnered with a major U.S. airline on an aircraft maintenance program.

In the partnership, Delta Air Lines Inc. will provide Lansing Community College’s Aviation Maintenance Technology program with added resources and offer the school’s graduates greater access to a career in the industry, according to a statement.

LCC was one of 43 programs nationwide and the only community college in Michigan to partner with Delta, which uses a 100-point selection process to identify partner schools to offer the program. The company’s process considers a school’s equipment and facilities, hands-on training and instructional quality.

Delta identified the LCC program as “one of the most affordable in the nation,” noting that its graduates who earn a license as an aircraft and powerplant mechanic can earn a starting salary of up to $50,000.

“By providing students from these top-notch schools real-world training and direct support from Delta, we have a unique opportunity to generate awareness and interest in a very promising and enriching aviation career,” Joe McDermott, Delta’s managing director of cabin maintenance, training and support services, said in a statement.

Describing it as a “very powerful” program for students, LCC President Dr. Brent Knight said the partnership will allow Delta to “play a role in shaping our training” so graduates continue to meet the needs of industry.

In May, the Western Michigan University College of Aviation in Battle Creek announced a similar partnership with Delta for training aircraft maintenance personnel, as MiBiz reported at the time.

The timing of the partnerships coincides with an acute need for skilled workers in the industry. According to the 2016 Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook, the aviation industry by 2035 will need more than 2 million new aviation personnel, including 617,000 commercial airline pilots, 679,000 maintenance technicians, and 814,000 cabin crew.

Aviation in Michigan is a $20 billion industry, according to statistics from the FAA.