AS the Art Williams & Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School celebrates 25 years, new programmes will be introduced to broaden its curriculum.

Director General for the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Retired Lieutenant Colonel Egbert Field told the Department of Public Information (DPI) that international instructors will lend their knowledge to the new programmes.

“We will invite instructors from overseas to run their programmes and courses under the offices of our school. For instance, I’m working on a programme to invite some United States instructors to come and teach certain elements of air navigation services to our air navigation staff,” Field explained to DPI.

The school was designed mainly to produce highly trained local aircraft maintenance engineers through a programme designed specifically for people interested in building a career in aircraft maintenance. According to the GCAA’s Director, the biggest challenge has always been the availability of trainers. “One of our challenges I’d say is getting personnel to be part of the management establishment of the school. I’m now in the process of training individuals to become instructors in the school. Every instructor or teacher has to go through their programme of instructing.

Since its debut, the Aeronautical Engineering School has become an ISO accredited tertiary institution and has acquired an $85Million state-of-the-art simulator. The Art Williams & Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School began operating in 1993 and falls under the purview of Guyana Civil Aviation Authority. It is approved and certified by GCAA, Trinidad & Tobago Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA), Civil Aviation Safety Authority Suriname (CASAS) and Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA). The School is also a long-standing member of the Flight Safety Foundation and the International Federation of Airworthiness, United States of America. (DPI)