HAGERSTOWN, Md. — The Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics (PIA) Hagerstown Campus will host an aeronautics career fair on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with school officials noting that the fair has attracted more employers than available students for hire, a strong indicator of career trends for the region.
Employers expected to be at the career fair include Aerotek, Envoy Air, Naval Air Systems Command, Air Wisconsin, Piedmont Airlines, Westinghouse Electric Company, Constant Aviation, GE Aviation, Air National Guard, Bombardier Aerospace, United Airlines, the Transportation Security Administration, and many others.
“That we will host more employers than we have students … is as strong an indicator of career demand as we could possibly imagine and helps us connect employers with the entry-level mechanic skills they are looking for,” said Butch Adams, Hagerstown Campus Director.
According to Boeing’s 2015 Current Market Outlook, the aviation industry will require more than 1 million new aviation personnel — 558,000 commercial airline pilots and 609,000 maintenance technicians — between 2016 and 2034.
According to Hagerstown Campus Career Services officials, employers are seeking A&P mechanics, mechanical skills, leadership qualities and dependability.
Since 2011, Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics’ Hagerstown Branch campus has been training certified and work-ready aviation maintenance technicians with a 16-month diploma program in Aviation Maintenance Technology. Working in conjunction with the Hagerstown Airport Authority and by request of the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board, PIA instituted the aviation maintenance technician school to help serve the workforce needs of both Maryland and the rest of the nation.
The Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics was opened by Glenn Curtiss and Orville Wright in 1927 as Curtiss-Wright Flying Service, and became PIA in 1929. PIA offers “hands-on” training for traditional and non-traditional students in Aviation Maintenance and Aviation Electronics. The instructional staff combine real world experience with class room instruction. PIA offers an Associate in Specialized Technology Degree at its West Mifflin, Pa., location and diploma programs in Youngstown, Ohio, Hagerstown, Md., and Myrtle Beach, S.C. There is open enrollment through the year accompanied with admissions requirements. For more information, call 800-444-1440 or go to PIA.edu.