It is true that currently it’s a fairly tough time to be starting out in the aircraft maintenance industry. Certain companies have cut right back on apprenticeships and I’m aware of some contractors (non-licensed) who have had fairly recent cuts to their hourly rates (something unheard of not so long ago)
However, this is a very cyclical industry and even allowing for the increasing trend to send aircraft to other continents for heavy maintenance, there will always be a good need for line engineers. There is also the issue of the number of experienced licensed engineers who will be retiring in the next 10-15 years (myself included) Currently, there is simply not the numbers being trained in many airlines and MRO’s to replace these engineers and the problem won’t go away!
If you have been offered an apprenticeship with an airline then you won’t have an issue with gaining the experience required for Licenses. Most of the problems of this nature are faced by folks who are starting out self-studying or attending the theory-only JAR147 approved courses.
Last edited by boeing_eng; 15th Mar 2011 at 09:43.