Congress passes full funding for aviation workforce grant programs

With the passage of the full $10 million funding for aviation workforce grants, the aviation industry, won a significant victory earlier this week. The aviation maintenance and pilot  grant programs will each be funded at $5,000,000 per year in the FY 2020 budget which began October 1, reflecting the importance Congress puts on aviation workforce issues.

Passage resulted from work done by a 40-member state and national aviation coalition, led by ARSA and including ATEC.

The technician program supports a wide variety of aviation maintenance workforce development recruitment and training activities. Grants of up to $500,000 may be used to:

• Establish new educational programs that teach technical skills used in aviation maintenance, including purchasing equipment, or to improve existing such programs.
• Establish scholarships or apprenticeships for individuals pursuing employment in the aviation maintenance industry.
• Support outreach about careers in the aviation maintenance industry to primary, secondary, and post-secondary school students or to communities underrepresented in the industry.
• Support educational opportunities related to aviation maintenance in economically disadvantaged geographic areas.
• Support transition to careers in aviation maintenance, including for members of the Armed Forces. 
• Otherwise enhance aviation maintenance technical education or the aviation maintenance industry workforce.

​The maintenance grant program was designed to facilitate public-private collaboration and innovation. In order to be eligible, a grant application must be supported by an aviation business or union, a school and a governmental entity.