Joramco’s aircraft MRO school Joramco Academy has entered into an agreement to support the establishment of a new institution offering advanced studies in aircraft maintenance in Ghana and the Sub Region.
The institution, Aerojet Aviation Training Academy, will give young Africans the opportunity to pursue careers in aviation, by providing training facilities, resources and work experience.
Joramco Academy was established in 2007 to provide comprehensive aircraft maintenance training courses. Based at the Joramco site in Amman, it aims to provide real-world insights into day-to-day operations at an MRO company. It offers internationally valid qualifications, which meet the knowledge requirements of IR Part 66 licensing in category B. The courses are accredited by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), in addition to the Jordan Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (JCARC) and the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA).
Aerojet Aviation was established in 2016 to address the lack of MRO capabilities in Africa, which is hampering the development of the air transport industry across the continent, and where there is great potential for growth. The academy is part of a larger project, prioritised by the government of Ghana, which will see the establishment of a fully equipped and staffed MRO centre in Ghana.
The project is being implemented with support from Joramco Academy instructors, who have been graduating aircraft maintenance engineers since the academy’s inception in 2007. The certified instructors will train Aerojet’s first batch of students, as well as local instructors who will be taking over in the academy under Aerojet’s own approvals when granted. The Joramco team will also support Aerojet in its preparation and subsequent applications for the relevant approvals from the Ghanaian authorities, EASA and FAA.
The four-year aircraft maintenance course is divided into both theoretical and practical training, with the aim of graduating the first batch of future aircraft maintenance engineers with the experience and confidence to immediately join the workforce at the Aerojet MRO facility being established in Ghana.
Aerojet’s chief executive officer Mazisi Parkes said: “Aviation skills and knowledge training are integral to the Accra MRO Project and the eventual growth of the African aviation industry, and this is exactly what our training academy was set up to deliver. We are delighted to be working with Joramco on this. When you look at the growth of Joramco in the last few years it has been phenomenal, and we are keen to learn from their experience. But more importantly there are very strong synergies and alignment in goals between the two organisations which lends itself to this partnership. Our objective is clear; we work with partners that understand our long-term strategy and have an interest in helping us develop the aviation sector in Africa. I am convinced that both Aerojet and Joramco will be better for it in the coming years.”
Joramco’s CEO Fraser Currie commented: “We are honoured to have been entrusted by Aerojet to establish an aviation engineering academy as part of their plan to develop a new world-class MRO facility. Drawing on Joramco’s world-leading capabilities, as well as the training expertise of Joramco Academy, we are able to provide Aerojet with the necessary skills, and guide them on constructing facilities and achieving regulatory approvals.”
The new academy will be based at Aerojet’s homebase at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana. Operations will begin in September 2022, with registrations already open for the first cohort of students, who are anticipated to begin their studies in January 2023.
