Hamilton Aero Maintenance Ltd
Find out how this Hamilton business is giving local students a flying start
Established in 1984, Hamilton Aero Maintenance Ltd provides a comprehensive range of aviation services including component and electrical overhaul, servicing maintenance, airline maintenance, ground support, corporate servicing, and aircraft refurbishment. In 1988 it added avionics and instrumentation.
The Rukuhia workshop has volunteered to host 3 local students for one day a week, a move Avionics/Managing Director Clive Law-Brown believes will give the students a good introduction to the industry.
A 30 year veteran in engineering and avionics, Clive believes that the education system has not adequately presented aviation as a real career option to students.
“Careers advisors and parents need to communicate to students that there is more out there than just university. There is a misconception that if students don’t go to university they’re somehow wasting their lives, but what about the young people that are good with technical skills; those people who are bright, hands-on learners and possibly more suitable for a highly technical profession such as aviation? There’s a wide variety of technical professions and many more trades than just plumbing, building and motor mechanics.”
Clive believes that the shortages in general aviation have reached a ‘crisis situation’, particularly outside the major centers.
“It is common knowledge that our industry is ageing and it can’t continue this way, we can’t keep doing it forever. We need young people who are bright and enthusiastic and good with their hands; the kind who would do equally well in a university or in a more technical profession. These are the people we need joining the industry, but it needs to be a long-term project, not a 5 minute exercise. We can’t afford to wait another decade and then start looking; we need to start now.”
His advice to other businesses who are considering hosting a student: ‘pick up the ball and run with it.’
“We have got a lot out of the industry over the years and this is the easiest way for us to give back. For a business it’s not just an opportunity to get young people interested but also a possible way to find employees for the future. These students are coming from local schools, so if they live locally and work with us for the next few years before moving on overseas or to a bigger city, it is still benefiting the industry as a whole,” he says.
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