The new Townsville Aviation Training Academy has opened its doors ready to train Australia’s Apache defence maintenance workforce.
The first intake of 35 apprentices started their training this week. This is part of a program to build a long-term aviation maintenance workforce based in North Queensland.
The academy is operated through Aviation Australia.
It provides specialist training to support Boeing Defence Australia’s new maintenance workforce for the Australian Army’s AH-64E Apache helicopters and the expanding CH-47F Chinook program.
Minister for Finance, Trade, Employment and Training Ros Bates said the academy was a response to the shortage of skilled aviation maintenance workers across Queensland.
“This academy is exactly how we build a skills system that is driven by real jobs, not by theoretical training outcomes,” Minister Bates said.
“It delivers a direct pathway from apprenticeship into skilled employment and forms part of our plan to grow a workforce Queensland’s economy and critical industries will rely on for decades.”
The new Townsville campus has more than 750 square metres of classroom hangars, housing full-scale rotary and fixed-wing training aids to give students hands-on experience in a real-world environment.
