United Airlines is launching a new in-house apprentice program to grow and diversify its base of aircraft technicians.
The airline has developed the new program, dubbed Calibrate, in conjunction with the FAA and labor union the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT).
During a recent discussion on Calibrate, United EVP Human Resources and Labor Relations Kate Gebo said the airline has roughly 9,000 aviation facility and ground equipment technicians. With more than 500 aircraft on order, according to the Aviation Week Intelligence Network Fleet and Data Services, “United has the need to hire more than 7,000 more technicians,” Gebo said.
Calibrate is a 36-month program in which participants will get paid while completing the full-time training and certification process. Potential candidates for the apprentice program must have a high school diploma to qualify.
By 2026, Calibrate will be live in dozens of locations and train more than 1,000 people, Gebo said, with a goal of at least half of those trainees “being women or people of color.”
United has hired more than 800 aircraft technicians this year, and plans to hire close to 2,000 in 2023, Gebo said.
Those additions are occurring at a time when the airline expects a number of retirements among senior technicians, she said.
The retirements, coupled with United’s projected growth plans, have resulted in the airline working to ensure it retains a highly trained group of aircraft technicians, Gebo said.
United’s inaugural class of students will start training Nov. 7 at its Houston Intercontinental hub. The class will comprise 15 students, 13 of which are people of color and one is a woman, Gebo said.
The airline expects the second Calibrate cohort to launch in Houston in early 2023, and then the program should expand to more than a dozen locations including Orlando International and United’s San Francisco hub, which is a massive maintenance base for the airline.
United VP of Line Maintenance Rodney Luetzen said that the apprenticeship entails both classroom and on-the-job training. The floor training is centered on state-of-the-art aircraft, he said, “versus generalized training on older, smaller aircraft.”
The apprentices will be trained and mentored by United technicians and acquire union seniority within the IBT.
At the end of the 36 months, United will welcome fully licensed aviation maintenance technicians into its workforce, Luetzen said.
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