Sinclair Community College and Sierra Nevada Corp. have partnered to form the SNC Sinclair Academy to train students for aerospace and aviation maintenance technician jobs.
Those who graduate from the academy will be equipped to work on everything from hot air balloons to commercial planes, said Sean Bohn, program director in Sinclair’s Aviation Technology Department.
"They have to have a good mechanical aptitude, they get into sheet metal work, hydraulics, learning the pneumatics, landing gear systems, avionics — anything dealing with the aircraft they learn how to work on and systems-wide, including jet engines, turbine engines, reciprocating engines," Bohn said.
The academy will also access and test the skills of non-student candidates who apply directly to Sierra Nevada.
Since building its first hangar in 2023 at Dayton International Airport, the Sierra Nevada has expanded to four hangars, a total of 440,000 square feet. Its leaders said more skilled employees are needed who can handle new technologies, including AI, robotics and other advanced tools.
Benjamin Sears, who chairs the Sinclair aviation technology department, cited a recent Boeing study that says from now until 2040, the industry will experience a workforce gap as seasoned pilots, mechanics, technicians and flight attendants continue to retire. That will create new opportunities for SNC Sinclair Academy graduates.
"With the growing retirees, there's going to be a massive shortfall and we're going to need a lot more technicians, pilots, flight attendants, UAS pilots, aviation maintenance technicians," Sears said. "We're taking current graduates or students that are very close to graduating, running them through a cohort based model to up-skill them to what SNC needs."
The SNC Sinclair Academy begins later this month.
