Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Category M - Maintenance British Columbia Institute of Technology

Overview

An Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) is responsible for the release (certification) of an aircraft after maintenance, inspection, repair or modification. This is a responsible occupation requiring a high degree of responsibility and skill, which includes:

• certifying the airworthiness of airframe, piston and turbine engines, electrical/electronic systems, propellers, and rotary systems;
• troubleshooting aircraft structural, mechanical, or electrical systems to identify problems;
• adjusting and repairing systems according to specifications, technical drawings, manuals, and established procedures;
• repairing and overhauling aircraft structural, mechanical, or electrical systems;
• installing or modifying aircraft engines, mechanical, hydraulic, electrical, flight control, fuel and pneumatic systems;
• dismantling airframes, aircraft engines, or other aircraft systems for repair, overhaul, inspection, and reassembly; and

• supervising, performing, and documenting routine maintenance.

Career

For the last 50 years, graduates from the AME M program have found employment in both the national and international aviation industry. Some graduates have gone on to become managers and owners of domestic and international aircraft maintenance establishments.

Overall, aircraft mechanics, particularly those with work experience, are expected to have excellent job opportunities and the number of job openings is expected to exceed the supply of qualified applicants as indicated in the 2009 IATA (International Air Transport Association) Training and Qualification Initiative report.

The Armed Forces are also competing to recruit skilled workers in this area, including graduates from approved training organizations such as BCIT. Air transportation is projected to grow and the demand for aircraft mechanics and inspectors to carry out repair and maintenance work is expected to remain high.

The Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Category M - Maintenance student from British Columbia Institute of Technology outcomes report presents summary findings from the annual survey of former students administered by BC Stats one to two years after graduation. These reports combine the last three years of available results for the 2020-2022 BCIT Outcomes Surveys of 2019-2021 graduates and for Degree 2017-2019 graduates. The reports are organized into three-page summaries containing information on graduates’ labour market experiences and opinions regarding their education. More detailed information can be accessed at the BC Student Outcomes website.