Consortium announced to help connect youth with aviation careers
Published 7:53 pm Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Wallace Community College Selma President Dr. James Mitchell announces the Rural Aviation Consortium. | Brent Maze, The Selma Times-Journal
Wallace Community College Selma President Dr. James Mitchell announces the Rural Aviation Consortium. | Brent Maze, The Selma Times-Journal
Gary Weaver, ACCS Regional Workforce Director talks about the Aviation Consortium. | Brent Maze, The Selma Times-Journal
Gary Weaver, ACCS Regional Workforce Director talks about the Aviation Consortium. | Brent Maze, The Selma Times-Journal
Wallace Community College Selma President Dr. James Mitchell welcomes State Sen. Robert Stewart, who helped secure $2 million in funding through ACCS. | Brent Maze, The Selma Times-Journal
State Sen. Robert Stewart talks about landing $2 million in funding through ACCS to promote workforce development in the Black Belt. | Brent Maze, The Selma Times-Journal
State Sen. Robert Stewart talks about landing $2 million in funding through ACCS to promote workforce development in the Black Belt. | Brent Maze, The Selma Times-Journal
State Sen. Robert Stewart talks about landing $2 million in funding through ACCS to promote workforce development in the Black Belt. | Brent Maze, The Selma Times-Journal
Jim Corrigan, executive director of Craig Field Airport & Industrial Authority, talks about the programs that are already being offered at the airport in conjunction with WCCS and Marion Military Institute, who are also consortium partners. | Brent Maze, The Selma Times-Journal
Jim Corrigan, executive director of Craig Field Airport & Industrial Authority, talks about the programs that are already being offered at the airport in conjunction with WCCS and Marion Military Institute, who are also consortium partners. | Brent Maze, The Selma Times-Journal
Dr. Tammie Briggs, WCCS Dean of Instruction, said she is excited about the opportunities WCCS can offer students to help them land high-paying jobs. | Brent Maze, The Selma Times Journal
Dr. Tammie Briggs, WCCS Dean of Instruction, thanks State Sen. Robert Stewart for his support to help make the aviation consortium happen financially. | Brent Maze, The Selma Times Journal
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The old adage from the movie “Fields of Dreams” says, “If you build it, they will come.”
That is what Wallace Community College-Selma and Craig Field Airport & Industrial Authority are hoping will happen as they and others have teamed up with stakeholders in the community to launch its Rural Aviation Consortium.
WCCS President Dr. James M. Mitchell said many of the pieces are in place now to offer a wide variety of aviation education programs. Now, they believe it is only a matter of time before the students come.
“One of the things that is important to us when we talk about aviation, we are not just talking about one aspect of aviation; we are talking about programs, aviation in which our students will be able to, those who are interested, air traffic control, avionics, aircraft maintenance, pilot training and even drone certification,” Mitchell said. “And that program will continue to grow, because as the aviation industry grows, we want to grow along with it.”
The program is a partnership between WCCS, Craig Field, and Marion Military Institute. It aims to equip students from underserved communities with the skills needed for success in aviation, providing them with a direct pathway to careers in a high-growth sector.
State Sen. Robert Stewart, D-Selma, has been instrumental in helping Wallace and Craig obtain $2 million through the Alabama Community College System. He said he promised to help promote economic development in the Black Belt region, and one of those ways is through the workforce development programs of ACCS.
“We know that aviation is the future, and we have the infrastructure to create opportunities for our region,” Stewart said. “If I could sum up my speech in a few words, it would be transformation because it’s important and key to transform our communities, especially the Black Belt… And it’s about a pipeline creating a pipeline to high-income careers.”
Jim Corrigan, executive director of airport and industrial authority, said Craig is excited to be part of the team to help link up the youth of the community with aviation.
“We can change the trajectory of a lot of youth’s lives. Maintenance technicians, pilots, avionics, air traffic control — it’s a worldwide demand right now. And we hopefully can feed that demand, give youth the opportunity to travel worldwide, to be employed anywhere they want to be.”
Dr. Tammie Briggs, WCCS dean of instruction, said thanked Stewart, Corrigan and ACCS Chancellor Jimmy H. Baker for their investment in the lives of students in this region.
“We are excited that in this little, small region that we will train pilots that will go all over the world,” Briggs said. “We’ll train aviation mechanics that can work on any kind of plane. We’re excited about raising the level of opportunity and expectation for those students individually and then for this region as a whole.”
