Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics (PIA) has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Keystone Communities (KC) program. This grant will be used to upgrade the equipment that PIA uses in its hands-on training of avionics maintenance students. This upgrade will ensure that PIA graduates have practical experience using the same state-of-the-art equipment they will be servicing in their future careers as aviation electronics (avionics) technicians.
The Keystone Communities (KC) program encourages partnerships between public and private sector entities in order to grow, diversify and stabilize the quality of life in neighborhoods and communities. An initiative of the PA Department of Community & Economic Development (DCED), the KC program was developed in part to help increase local availability of skilled talent. This initiative has become a statewide priority after recent economic studies found that Pennsylvania was not investing sufficient funds to help local communities remain competitive in a 21st Century knowledge-based economy.
PIA will use its KC grant to replace its 1200Y3 transponder bench test unit, a type of Distance Measuring Equipment (DME), which can no longer be properly serviced due to a lack of available parts. Without this new equipment, students can’t test transponders or other DMEs to current aviation specifications. The KC grant will enable PIA to replace its 1200Y3 with a new ATC-5000NG, which will enhance skills by enabling students to test Mode A, C, and S transponders and ADS-B equipment, the current standard for air traffic control reporting.
“Getting experience and training on this equipment will be a huge asset to our avionics graduates as they move into careers in the aviation industry,” says PIA Dean of Academic Affairs Jason Pfarr. “Also, thanks to the more efficient design of the ATC-5000NG, our students and instructors will be calibrating less equipment, since several additional pieces of our current test equipment will now be incorporated into the ATC’s design.”
“PIA is grateful to work with the Keystone Communities program to ensure that this grant is put to practical use in a way that will enhance the career prospects of our talented local students,” says PIA President and CEO Suzanne Markle. “As one of the first trade schools in our region and one of the top technical schools in the U.S., PIA is proud to provide a pathway to a rewarding career for hands-on learners who dream of building great things — the same dream that has fueled job growth in Pittsburgh for well over a century and counting.”
Aviation maintenance is a career path that Boeing predicts will remain in high demand over the next 20 years despite the temporary hardships that the airline industry is currently facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As mechanics from the Baby Boomer generation rapidly move into retirement, Boeing forecasts that over 700,000 new maintenance technicians will be needed to fly and maintain the global fleet over the next 20 years.
“This Keystone Communities Program grant will help to ensure that PIA graduates remain at the top of the hiring list for aviation employers all across the industry for years to come,” says Pennsylvania State Representative-elect Nick Pisciottano, D-Allegheny. “As young people realize careers in the technical trades are just as financially rewarding and professionally gratifying as those obtained with a four-year college degree, we hope more people will see schools like PIA — a prestigious, nationally top-ranked program — as an excellent option toward a great career, right here in our backyard.”
