FAA Awards $5 million in Grants
The FAA awarded $5 million in grants in 2022 aimed at helping the aviation industry grow its Maintenance Repair and Overhaul market (MRO) workforce pipeline. The agency chose 11 grant recipients under its Aviation Maintenance Technical Workers Workforce Development program, which helps to attract and train students for careers as aviation maintenance technicians.
The program was funded as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, through which Congress has appropriated $5 million annually since 2020. Congress approved the program through the end of the fiscal year 2023. Grant funding can be used to establish new educational outreach programs, provide scholarships or apprenticeships, conduct outreach about MRO careers, or support aviation maintenance-related opportunities in economically disadvantaged areas.
Grant recipients included a mix of publicly owned schools, for-profit schools, and aviation maintenance companies. Recipients received between $280,000-$500,000 each.
FEAM Aero, which received $500,000, plans to use the funding to identify new resources for recruitment and expedited training, focusing specifically on transitioning military veterans. Funding will also be used to launch an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) school at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) in partnership with Epic Flight Academy, including offering scholarships to underserved applicants.
The Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM), was awarded $431,200. It plans to use the funding to bolster both its high school dual-enrollment programs and its veteran training. According to AIM, the funding will support the expansion of its Veterans Resource Center in Norfolk, Virginia, and its Professional Military Certification program on military bases. It will also be used to establish dual-enrollment programs in tandem with Norfolk Public Schools, Richmond Public Schools and what AIM says are additional school systems in the region looking to offer career and technical pathways in aviation.
In addition to the MRO-focused grants, the FAA also awarded $5 million in grants to attract and train students for pilot careers.
Learn more about all the grant recipients HERE.
