Iberia Maintenance has welcomed 68 vocational training students who are starting their internships across several technical courses.

The internships will last between three and nine months, and the courses include: aeromechanical maintenance of turbine engine aircraft, technician in assembly of structures and installation of aeronautical systems, advanced technician in maintenance of aircraft electronic and avionic systems, and technician in mechanics.

The courses will be carried out in classroom or Dual mode where the interns will complete the curriculum while adapting to a real working environment.

The interns will be monitored by Iberia tutors in the different production areas where the students are assigned: engines, components, heavy maintenance and line maintenance.

María Guilarte, Iberia Maintenance‘s transformation director, said: “Aircraft maintenance is a sector that requires highly qualified professionals with very specific training.

“With these collaboration agreements, our aim is to train today’s students, who will be tomorrow’s professionals, and to anticipate a possible shortage of certain profiles in the labour market.

“I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all of them.”

The students have studied at the educational institution Centro Formación Profesional Profesor Raúl Vázquez and the IES Barajas.

José Luis Benítez Navarro, director of CIFP Profesor Raúl Vazquez, said: “Dual vocational training provides a great opportunity for young people to enter the labour market after acquiring theoretical and practical knowledge applicable to the current needs of companies.

“Specifically, in our collaboration with Iberia Maintenance, we contribute to training the specialised profiles needed by the airline industry and which, in addition, have a high employability rate.

“Being in permanent contact with companies is key to training great professionals.

“Initial training takes place at the educational centre and at the end in the workplace.

“The training that we are carrying out jointly between companies and educational centres is of high quality and is the training that companies demand.”

Pablo Valbuena, head of studies at IES Barajas, said: “It is necessary to highlight the advantages of vocational training as an undoubtedly valid method for the insertion of professionals in the labour market and that the message reaches young people who are evaluating the different educational options.

“The world of aviation requires highly qualified workers, but that does not mean that only engineers are needed, but a very wide range of professionals, who can then continue training to complete the necessary studies to continue growing.”

Since the start of the agreements to carry out vocational training internships, from 2018 to date approximately 300 students have completed their training at La Muñoza, 40 per cent of whom have been hired by the company.

Iberia Maintenance and the Regional Ministry of Education of the Community of Madrid signed a collaboration agreement in 2011 to launch this new vocational-technical course.

The aeromechanical maintenance studies combine theoretical training at the educational centre and practical training at La Muñoza, where Iberia Mantenimiento’s facilities are located.

The Iberia Maintenance Training Centre provides more than 100,000 hours of training each year to its own employees, to external students from these vocational-technical centre, from other airlines such as LATAM, Aer Lingus or Vueling, and aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus.

The centre is approved by EASA (Part 147 and 145) to offer a wide range of courses aimed at obtaining the A350 XWB (B1/B2), A330 (B1/B2/C), A320 ceo/neo, CFM56, V2500, PW1100 and LEAP-1A fleet certification licences, as well as refresher courses to maintain the rating.