The businesses and companies positioned on the Ardmore Industrial Airpark are an integral half to town’s present and continued success, and the aviation business is an important element of many of those companies — companies already in place and companies coming sooner or later.
On Thursday morning the group gathered at SouthernTech for a groundbreaking ceremony of the brand new aviation expertise constructing to take a step ahead in constructing that future. As soon as full, college students who can be educated within the facility will learn to construct and restore plane.
Dr. Eric Ward, Superintendent of SouthernTech, welcomed everybody to the ceremony and described the mission of the varsity and the longer term aviation expertise constructing.
“Our mission at SouthernTech is to offer prime quality skills-based technical schooling alternatives that drive financial success,” Ward mentioned. “Financial success impacts all of us right now in addition to the generations of residents which can be but to come back. I believe that is one thing that we’ve to recollect we’re not simply doing this for right now however for these college students who have not even been born but.”
“The aviation constructing will present yet one more alternative to arrange college students in southern Oklahoma for profitable careers which can be at the moment in aviation and making ready college students for aviation careers that do not but exist,” he mentioned “It is thrilling to see all the expansion that’s taking place in our space and we’re anxious to proceed creating the workforce for the standard jobs that everybody is bringing to our area.”
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Invoice Murphy, President and CEO of the Ardmore Chamber of Commerce and the Ardmore Growth Authority, mentioned how the brand new aviation program will assist Ardmore and the complete state be extra aggressive when attracting new enterprise.
“We worth the partnership that we’ve with SouthernTech,and I’ve see firsthand all through Oklahoma how the technical college system has made an enormous distinction in our potential to be aggressive within the financial growth tasks,” Murphy mentioned. “That’s no extra true than with our aerospace and aviation industries. The Ardmore Industrial Airpark is a jewel within the state of Oklahoma. We have got some nice companions in King Aerospace and others. Simply as importantly, we’ve a bunch of potential corporations which can be taking a look at our airpark, and this program will assist us to have a leg up on our competitors.”
Eddie Compton, Aerospace and Protection Business Liaison with the Oklahoma Division of Profession and Know-how Training, spoke about how the graduates of the aviation program can be in excessive demand.
‘You are investing in A&P technicians which can be so brief within the nation right now,” Compton mentioned. “Between now and 2041, we have to make one other 13,000 A&P technicians, and that is not counting those that are retiring. The common age of an A&P technician in Oklahoma right now is 55, and we graduate anyplace between 200 to 300 per 12 months within the state.”
He mentioned these graduates are usually not solely in demand within the aviation business, but in addition within the engineering and leisure industries similar to amusement parks due to their potential to do extremely dependable upkeep work. He famous the common beginning wage for an A&P technician is between $50,000 and $55,000 per 12 months, and salaries “skyrocket” after a number of years of expertise.
This text initially appeared on The Every day Ardmoreite: SouthernTech has groundbreaking ceremony at new aviation tech constructing
