THE Chief Executive Officer of the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School (AWHWAES), Captain Malcolm Chan-a-Sue announced, recently, that a Caribbean-wide recognised institution based in Guyana plans to train students in jet repairs and maintenance.

In the announcement, he said it is now a full member of the United States-based Flight Safety Foundation.
Speaking at the recent 2013 Graduation Ceremony held at the hangar of the Caribbean Aviation Maintenance Services (CAMS), Chan-a-Sue said AWHWAES has now become the fourth educational organisation to have been accredited by the Washington D.C-based Flight Safety Foundation, which is said to be the world’s highest ranking safety and development organisation.
Members of the latter include leading aircraft manufacturers, such as Airbus and Boeing, as well as major civil aviation authorities around the world
According to Chan-a-Sue, a jet would be based at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) which AWHWAES would use as a working model for training at Ogle, East Coast Demerara, CJIA, Timehri and the wider Caribbean, so as to become well acquainted with the aircraft’s management.

HIGH STANDARDS
He said the 16-year-old school has set high standards which are reflected in the fact that only 107 of the more than 200 graduates, so far, are fully licensed engineers.
However, he pointed out the importance of students having to pass examinations, work on the airplanes and must possess log books as proof before the Civil Aviation Authority can approve of them.
Expressing concern that a lot of the students, although intelligent, are absent from the classrooms and hangars, he lamented the level of standard English even among students who would have written the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC).
As such, the school has decided to contract an organisation to teach the students English Language since aviation industry standards are high and require proper essay and other writings.
Operated by the Aircraft Owners Association of Guyana (AOAG), AWHWAES has produced graduates who are working in the Caribbean, United States, Canada and other countries.
The school is accredited by Civil Aviation Authorities in Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Suriname, as well as by the Caribbean Aviation Safety Oversight System.
It is the first tertiary institution in Caricom with an ISO 9001 certified quality management system and LIAT is the first international airline that has placed its students on attachment at the school.
The Antigua and Barbuda Board of Education has sponsored three students to AWHWAES.
Those graduating with Completion Certificates in Aeronautical Engineering are Shivram Arjun (Best Graduating Student), Sean Blackman, Michele Canzius, Jeremy Cox, Randall De Freitas, Michael Husbands, Gordon Watson, Cemeria Williams and Tevyn Art Williams.
They now have to apply to the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) to be granted licences.