ROME, N.Y. — Mohawk Valley Community College and Piedmont Airlines have partnered on an accelerated 12-month tuition-assistance program for qualified students in MVCC’s airframe and powerplant certificate program. Up to 10 scholarships are available for the fall 2022 semester.
The program is designed to attract new and diverse talent to the aviation maintenance field by removing financial barriers and job uncertainties that might prevent some from entering the field. In addition to full tuition assistance, the program will provide qualified students with conditional job offers at Piedmont Airlines before they begin classes at MVCC’s Aviation Training Center at Griffiss International Airport in Rome.
MVCC and Piedmont have partnered for the past seven years with MVCC providing new talent support for Piedmont’s maintenance base in Albany.
“Piedmont Airlines has been a strong partner for several years and this generous initiative is their latest effort to help accelerate the pathway to an exciting and rewarding career for our students,” MVCC President Randall VanWagoner said in a release. “I’m looking forward to seeing the incredible difference this will make in the lives of the students.”
“The tuition-payment program is an amazing opportunity that helps remove financial barriers for those interested in the aviation-maintenance field,” Jessica Weney, Piedmont senior recruiter maintenance tech op, said. “The program sets each candidate up for success by funding their studies and certification fees, as well as providing them with a career after graduation.”
MVCC’s program is structured as a full-time, 40-hour-per-week training program that runs for three consecutive semesters. It’s one of only two community college-based aviation-maintenance programs in the state and one of only a few one-year programs in the country.
The program runs for 12 months, and the spring 2022 program costs for a New York resident without room and board is $17,964, which includes the required tools and all FAA exam fees.
With campuses in Utica and Rome, Mohawk Valley Community College (www.mvcc.edu) offers 90 degree and certificate programs to 6,000 full- and part-time students and serves an additional 6,000 people through its corporate and community education programs.