The UK Civil Aviation Authority has joined forces with the Ministry of Defence to create a pathway into the civil aviation industry for military personnel.
The aviation regulator signed an agreement with the British Army’s Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers (REME) that will enable soldiers – both past and present – to transfer their qualifications and skills to relevant roles in the civil aviation sector.
REME personnel will be able to apply to the CAA for an Aircraft Maintenance Licence once they decide to leave the army.
The CAA said the agreement marks an alignment to civil aviation industry standards.
“We all appreciate the great skill and dedication that those who serve give to our country,” said Tim Johnson, chief of staff at the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
“The significant new agreement will enable those joining the army to broaden their professional experience and move more easily between a career in the military and one in the UK’s civil aviation sector.
“This will enable both the military and civil sector to be more successful in their missions.”
He continued: “There is a significant amount of crossover in the skills needed to maintain our high tech military equipment with maintaining the aircraft that fly above our heads every day.
“We welcome this further deepening of our long standing collaboration with the UK’s Ministry of Defence.”
Army personnel trained in aeronautical engineering are highly skilled technicians, and they will be able to transfer these skills into the civil aviation sector.
Lieutenant General David Eastman MBE, deputy chief of the general staff, said the agreement “not only represents our deepening relationship with the civil sector” but also “formally recognises the professionalism and high engineering standards of our REME workforce”.
“Accrediting the technical training delivered here, at the School of Army Aeronautical Engineering, provides a through-career learning pathway that is underpinned by industry standards and supports the professional development of the next generation of technicians,” he said.
Lieutenant General Eastman added that the agreement “reflects the Ministry of Defence’s drive to strengthen our relationship with industry”.
