Friday, May 9, 2008

Second takeoff

Nilai International University College (Nilai UC) launched its Diploma in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering late last year with the debut intake of students in January 2008 far exceeding expectations.

“We had expected a good response but not to the point where we were oversubscribed!” says a visibly proud Kunalan Marimuthu, head of the (AME) programme. “We had to add extra classes and quite a number of students had to be moved to our second intake in March. Thus the second intake is already half-full and we are again expecting a deluge of applications for this highly innovative programme.”

One of the main attractions of Nilai UC’s Diploma in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering programme is that it incorporates the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part 66 Category B1-1 syllabus. EASA is the centrepiece for the European Union’s strategy for aviation safety and is fast being recognised as the premier safety standard in most parts of the world. Nilai UC is also in the process of obtaining ‘Second Exam Site’ approval from Air Services Training, United Kingdom that is audited by Civil Aviation Authority, UK. This will mean students can sit for the EASA exams at Nilai UC’s campus rather than incur huge expenses to do so overseas as was the case previously.

Successful students will therefore possess both a Diploma in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering as well as an EASA certificate which leads towards a full EASA Part 66 Category B1-1 Aircraft Maintenance licence (provided the student completes the required work schedule). A licence holder is permitted to certify the air-worthiness of aircraft following maintenance. This includes aircraft structure, power plant as well as mechanical and electrical systems. The licence holder will also be allowed to change the avionic line replaceable units and conduct simple tests to prove their serviceability.
“In other words, this Part 66 B1-1 licence will give wide coverage of the required basic knowledge on fixed wing aircraft fitted with turbine engines,” says Kunalan.

This two and a half year programme is divided into seven semesters and Nilai UC has also incorporated the all-important practical training for students to gain valuable hands-on experience. Students will be placed in one of the eight industry partners to be gain some first hand knowledge of a real working environment (the industry partners are Berjaya Air Sdn Bhd, Dnest Air Services Sdn Bhd, KLAS DRB-HICOM, Gulf Golden International Flying Academy Sdn Bhd, Subang General Aviation Sdn Bhd and Systematic Aviation Services Sdn Bhd.

“Please let me make it clear that for a person to be a fully-qualified, licenced Aircraft Maintenance Engineering personnel he must have passed all the modules exams for the category in our programme as well as having completed the required apprenticeship in all the relevant categories. This process will normally take between two and five years,” explains Kunalan.

The future prospects for students in this programme are very bright considering the current shortage the aviation industry is facing. Coupled with the continued boom in travel and tourism, there is a huge demand for qualified aircraft maintenance personnel. This demand is not just in Malaysia but also worldwide. ”For example, the aviation industry in China is growing at an incredible rate and has announced that it will require an additional 100,000 aircraft maintenance personnel in the next five years,” says Kunalan.

For more information, kindly call 06-8502338 or visit http://www.nilai.edu.my/ . Do also take the time to visit Nilai UC’s 105-acre award-winning campus located in the picturesque suburb of Putra Nilai during its ‘Discovery Day’ weekend on 22nd and 23rd Mar 2008.