Maryland flight school recruits teens for A&P apprenticeships

His blue, short-sleeve work shirt was realistically oil-stained, with a name tag identifying the post-middle-age character as Bud. The figure’s packaging included a lunch box, a thermos, a pack of cigarettes, and other accessories.

Many people are familiar with online platforms that allow users to create such images, often resembling friends or family members and depicting a wide range of professions, hobbies, or lifestyles. The cleverest of these concoctions are good for hearty laughs, and the frowning, curmudgeonly mechanic certainly would cause giggles among folks in the general aviation community, largely because he seems so familiar—almost generic.

What caught Woods’ attention, though. was that the representation was way off, based on her experience. “Most of my staff is young and diverse,” she said. They are young because Woods recruits them as early as possible, often while they are still in high school. Her operation, she said, is doing its part to relieve the shortage of aviation mechanics.

The goal in attracting young workers is to train them as apprentices in preparation for pursuing airframe and powerplant mechanic certification. Once they are certificated, Woods said, she does not expect them to stick around for long because the high-paying airlines beckon. As apprentices, though, they help to get the work done and keep the school’s busy maintenance shop running efficiently.

“Most ready-made A&Ps are not willing to work for GA wages,” Woods said. The Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Program offered another way to put boots in the hangar, and Woods began “hiring kids out of high school before they go to A&P school and drink the airline Kool-Aid.”

While the process of finding and training young would-be mechanics is time-consuming and labor-intensive, she said, it appears to be working. She recently scheduled interviews for 19 candidates who were interested in a single apprentice position. Woods; Mike Ripley, a longtime A&P/IA she has worked with for years; and Hannah Lagno, an A&P with inspection authorization who trained with Ripley, team up to determine who has the potential they seek. They then work together to teach them the required tasks, from sweeping the floor to making repairs and performing inspections.

Andrew Williams recently received his A&P certification after working for three years as an apprentice. Before that he had a job in a restaurant with little opportunity for advancement. When his mother spotted a Facebook post about the apprenticeship, she suggested he check it out.

Like other candidates chosen for the program, Williams had to start with an internship. He recalled how overwhelmed he felt during those early days, given his lack of mechanical background. “I had never even worked on my car,” he said. “Still, everything in the shop seemed super-cool.”

After just a few months of working in the shop, high-school student Liam Battaglia feels like he has found a possible career. He also said he can imagine choosing a small GA operation instead of airline work because of the variety and interest.

“There is always something new and different coming in,” he said. “I don’t necessarily want to leave this place right away.”

The recruiting at Chesapeake takes several forms, with the occasional new hire, like Cassandra Fickel, coming with experience from other parts of the industry.

“When we found Cassandra she was crawling inside airliners to inspect their fuel tanks,” Woods said, making the job sound a bit like a stint in Purgatory.

Fickel earned her A&P certification in 2023 and was working on a variety of repairs and services on Boeing 737s and 777s but said she somehow felt as if she “was not learning very much.” Earlier this year she moved from Kansas City, Missouri, to try more varied work on small aircraft. She said she likes the work because it involves the entire aircraft instead of just a few parts or systems. GA mechanics also get to know the aircraft on a deeper level, she said. “You are able to recognize all of the parts of a piston engine.”

Woods said most GA maintenance operations are short-staffed, and apprenticeship programs are one way to begin addressing the problem at the local level. She hopes more airports and flight schools will work with state and local agencies to support similar programs and help guide young people to promising careers in aviation.

“You have to be willing to spend time, energy, and money to bring young people into the industry,” Woods said. “Eventually, though, we all benefit.”