The two major airlines serving the Caribbean region have lauded efforts being made by the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School (AWHWAES).
Top executives of LIAT and Caribbean Airlines, addressing the school’s ninth graduation, induction and prize-giving ceremony on Friday urged the director of the AWHWAES, which is located at the Ogle Aerodrome, to seek a partnership with the University of Guyana (UG) and if possible the University of the West Indies (UWI).
Twenty-one young engineers will enter the local and regional aviation industry from the institution built by two popular names in the industry, after which it is named.
Those graduating were Ryan Richards, Charles Murphy, Shazelle Sukhnarain, Darwin Joseph, Bheshamkumar Persaud, Travis Reid, Rizwan Rahaman, Dustin Thompson, Tuvendra Persaud, Shawn DeJesus, Niranjan Singh, Stefan Gonsalves, Ryan Bacchus, Steve Davis, Mark Dennis Jnr, Oswald Quamina, Richard Changlee, Ryan Braithwaite, Vincent Jardine and Roopnarine Boodhoo.
Mavendra Chan, who is still a student, won the best first-year student award and Suruj Persaud took the award for best second-year student.
Changlee, Dennis and Gonsalves from the graduating class were outstanding achievers.
LIAT Deputy CEO Alan Alexander, in brief remarks, noted that his airline has employed graduates of the school adding that the general feeling was that it produces high-quality engineers.
“Our belief is that this institution provides a well-grounded individual,” he said, adding that the airline has sponsored six students to attend the school.
He urged the school’s directors to seek partnerships with the two universities so that the subject area could be offered as an associate degree.
“An associate degree will be a plus and so personnel would not only be required to do engineering, but security training could be done as well as organisation and management skills and project management skills,” he said.
Meanwhile he impressed upon graduates how important it is for their reports from every assessment they conduct, to be good news.
“It is relatively easy to maintain a good report and keep your integrity, Use your maintenance manuals, use your control manual, use them at all times; that is your Bible,” he urged.
Alexander also told graduates that if they were ever in doubt over their work, they should always consult with the relevant authorities.
Caribbean Airlines Line Maintenance manager Parissram Jaggernath also plugged for an AWHWAES/UG/UWI partnership.
He said he was impressed when he first saw the school and its facilities, which he said reminded him of the days of the Caribbean Aviation Training Institute (CATI). CATI has since closed down and should have been re-opened but rather, ended up being another example of regional disharmony, he said.
The Trinidadian said his airline would work to foster a mutually beneficial relationship with the school.
He told the graduates that the profession they chose was a noble one, just like any other in the aviation industry which required a high level of trust, professional ethics and self confidence.
He added that the field was one of continuous learning.
“Do not stop here. See this as a stepping-stone. We need more managers and more CEO’s. We need local talent to take over the business of aviation in the region,” he asserted.
He opined that embarking on the partnership would result in aviation education being not just limited to engineering, adding that there was much more to be garnered from the industry.
The Art Williams and Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering school was named after the pioneers of aviation in Guyana who founded the British Guiana Airways on May 27, 1928. The school is approved and certified by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and trains suitably qualified persons to become Aircraft Maintenance Engineers.
On August 1, 2005, the school received individual approval and certification from the Jamaican Civil Authority. The United Kingdom Aviation Authority has since proposed to send officers to audit the school early in the New Year.
The UK body has proposed too to certify the school within the British Overseas Territories in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean, inclusive of Bermuda and the Falkland Islands.
