…nine licensed to operate

THIRTY-THREE aeronautical engineers, nine of whom received their Guyana Civil Aviation Authority Aircraft Maintenance Engineer’s Licence on Tuesday, are now equipped to enter the world of aviation, following the 21st convocation and award ceremony of the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School.

The ceremony was held at the National Cultural Centre where the Director General of the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Egbert Field, in his feature address, urged the young engineers to further their education to even higher levels, since technology was continuously evolving.

“Technology is advancing at an exponential rate and this is unmatched to any other field of transport. The call is therefore for you to continue learning. This is not the end of the road; this is the beginning,” he stated.

He added that the young engineers should now think outside of the box and take calculated risks, with the exhilarating new technology available, to ensure their success.
In addition, the director, who is also a board member of the school, stated that, one of the main goals of the school now, was to ensure that the students of the graduating classes of 2019, 2020 and 2021 are given the opportunity to become employed in the oil and gas sector as it’s related to aviation.

Giving brief remarks at the graduation was Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Jaipaul Sharma. He charged the young engineers to use the knowledge they would have gained during their time at Aeronautical Engineering School to further establish Guyana.

“The government will need engineers like yourselves…we need you, we need all hands on deck to move this country forward,” Minister Sharma told the graduates.
The minister added that, while some of the young engineers might intend to pursue a career overseas, it was vital that they cultivated their energies into their homeland, to further the development of the country, since, in the coming weeks, Guyana will see production of first oil.

Christopher Halley, one of the best graduating students, expressed immense pleasure with his success, and stated that he faced some difficulties, balancing his studies while ‘juggling’ two jobs. However, he was elated that he was able to persevere and come out as one of the top performers at his graduation.

Halley was also one of the nine graduates who received his Guyana Civil Aviation Authority Aircraft Maintenance Engineer’s Licence along with Shelly Rampersaud, another top performer, who was the only female to receive her Engineer Licence.
Aside from the school’s graduation, the institution also celebrated its 26th Anniversary with the approval and recognition of the School by the Guyana National Accreditation Council of the Ministry of Education.

The School which was the first of its kind in CARICOM and being operational since 1993, was registered with the NAC-G, and awarded, the Certification for Institutional Accreditation on November 22, 2019, making the institution the first training organisation in Guyana to achieve this accreditation.