United Airlines Picks Houston to Launch New Training Program for Aircraft Maintenance Technicians

    Nov. 3, 2022

    By Erica Grieder

    Source Houston Chronicle (TNS)

    Nov. 2—United Airlines said Wednesday that it will establish a new apprenticeship program to train aircraft maintenance technicians, launching the inaugural class in Houston next week.

    The national program called Calibrate, aims train 1,000 new professionals by 2026. Apprentice technicians will be paid over the course of the 36-month-long program, in addition to being able to forgo the cost of tuition at a technical school, which can run to roughly $50,000 over the course of a two-year program.

    Airline executives are hoping that's a draw for the program, along with the prospect of a career that pays well and provides health care, union protections, and other benefits. Apprentice technicians will be mentored by United's existing technicians as well as learning in the classroom.

    "They can do work that is additive right away," said Josh Earnest, United's chief communications officer, on a call announcing the program.

    United, which is headquartered in Chicago, has plans to hire 7,000 new maintenance technicians by 2026. Calibrate aims to train 1,000 of those technicians, with at least half of them being women or people of color.

    The lopsided demographics of the airline industry have attracted renewed attention this year, as both airlines and airports have struggled with staffing shortages as air travel returns to pre-pandemic levels. About 93 percent of professional pilots are white and 95 percent are male, according to 2021 data from the Labor Department.

    Kate Gebo, executive vice president of human resources and labor relations for United, said the airline currently has a healthy pipeline for aircraft maintenance technicians but wants to keep it that way.

    "We want to make sure we're protecting our future, and staying true to our values and expanding opportunities," Gebo said.

    The airline expects a second Calibrate cohort to begin in Houston early next year, and will expand to locations including San Francisco and Orlando in a similar timeframe.

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