TAMWORTH has welcomed eight new students from Papua New Guinea set to realise their aviation dreams.
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The eight members of the PNG Defence Force will spend two years at Tamworth’s AviSkills, learning the intricacies of aircraft maintenance and mechanics and avionics.
They will finished the course with a certificate IV in aeroskills avionics and mechanics – with half the course covering avionics and half doing mechanics – and can then be licensed by CASA.
AviSkills head teacher Russ Hodgkins said Tamworth was a perfect fit for the PNG personnel because it was not in the city and there was accommodation at the airport.
The partnership has been a long time coming – AviSkills has been working for five years to get the program running, and three PNG Defence Force pilots are already training at BAE Systems next door to AviSkills.
The students will be here for two years, and AviSkills staff and board members hope more will then begin their Australian training.
“The learning environment is ideal for our men. The accommodation is really good and the staff have been friendly,” PNG air wing’s Nancy Wii said.
Student leader Kapi Rawali has been in the PNG Defence Force for 20 years in the infantry and has now had a change of trade to avionics.
He said he enjoyed the technical part of aviation and enjoyed working on sophisticated engines.
“It means a lot to be in Australia,” Mr Rawali said.
“We don’t have these training facilities back home, and this will enhance my skills and train me on new things.”
Mr Rawali said he had not settled in yet, as they only arrived in Tamworth on Monday, but he looked forward to seeing more of the city during his two years here.
There are 149 students at AviSkills from Qantas, QantasLink, Jetstar, Fleet Helicopters and other aviation companies, and they hope to develop relationships with more countries now they have PNG on board.
