Students at Fanshawe College in London will soon be taking to the skies as part of a new partnership between the college and a local flight training centre.
The Ontario government announced on Friday that it had approved Fanshawe College’s new Commercial Flight and Aviation Leadership program, which will start in fall 2020. The new three-year advanced diploma program will focus on aviation leadership and flight training thanks to a partnership with Diamond Flight Centre. The program will be the first of its kind and will make Fanshawe College the largest aviation school in the entire country by 2021.
David Piccini, parliamentary assistant for the Ministry of Training, College and Universities, said the partnership with Diamond Flight Centre will give students a wide range of training and skills needed to meet the current job demands in the industry.
"This is going to create opportunities... in mechanics, this is going to create opportunities for flight assistants, but most importantly for our pilots," said Piccini. "This is involving a unique partnership with industry that's saving taxpayers money [and] that's giving more choice to our next generation."
According to the Canadian Council for Aviation and Aerospace, there are between 801-900 projected openings in Ontario for pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors for 2017-2021. Industry projections had also suggested there will be a need for approximately 620,000 active airline pilots world-wide by 2036, which is up from 290,00 in 2017.
"[The new program] will allow us to be able to get two things -- first, a commercial flying ticket, which is a license to fly in Canada and elsewhere, and beyond that it gives them the academic credential of a three-year advanced diploma," said Stephen Patterson, the dean of Fanshawe's Faculty of Science, Trades and Technology. "They'll have, basically, a one-stop-shop for their entire career, which is a beautiful thing."
Patterson said enrollment for the program will be around $20,000, which is standard for a three-year advanced diploma. He added that a commercial pilot's license can cost up to $60,000 to $70,000 a year in Canada.
"This [program] is marrying those together in a very efficient way so people can get on with their careers," said Patterson.
He added that Diamond will be providing 28 planes for the program, as well as all of the flight training needs. Patterson said this significantly drives the costs down for Fanshawe, so the college does not have to maintain its own fleet of aircraft.
"We'd have to elevate all of our tuition fees to match that," he said. "We don't have to do that [with Diamond], so the students get a lot of bang for their buck out of a partnership like this."
Patterson said with the current industry shortage, which is largely the result of a retiring generation, he sees a very bright future for students getting into the aviation field.
"I see these guys and girls getting jobs right away. The industry is in such a state at this point where people are getting head-hunted and poached before they graduate. These people will be flying larger planes a lot sooner than traditionally in the aviation industry," he said.