Through the Ministry of Tertiary Education and Skills Training (MTEST), The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) is carded to explore new horizons, with the start of construction of the nation’s very first Aviation Institute. Senator the Honourable Fazal Karim, Minister of Tertiary Education and Skills Training, speaking at the “Ceremony for the Start of Construction of the Trinidad and Tobago  Aviation Institute (TTAI)” on Monday March 10^th, 2014, noted the bright and lucrative future of the international Aviation industry. He cited an estimate by the International Air Travel Transportation Organisation that in 2030, twice as many people will engage in international travel.  Minister Karim strongly asserted his Ministry’s vision which will see TTAI as a “centre of excellence for Aviation training locally and internationally”, where persons will acquire skills that are “home grown” but “world known” to meet the opportunities presented by this growth in air travel.

The Institute will be strategically located on twenty (20) acres of land on the Camden Air Strip; a location that is also home to Aviation stakeholders National Helicopter Services Limited (NHSL) and Briko Air Services. It is carded for completion by September 2014 and was described by Minister Karim as a “gift to the nation”, one that held promises of economic growth and diversification, employment and international alliances. The training to be offered at UTT will be the first of its kind for the nation, with the TTAI carded to attract students from all across the region for programmes such as the Certificate in Aviation Theory, Diploma in Aviation Technology with specialisations in Airframes and Engines or Avionics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation Technology.

The graduation of the first cohort of fifteen (15) students from the Avionics Trainee Engineer programme and eighteen (18) students who are all members of the Trinidad and Tobago Air Guard (TTAG) also took place at the launch. Ten (10) of the graduates from the Avionics Trainee Engineer programme have also successfully written the X-Electrical examination, administered by the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Aviation Authority (TTCA), and have obtained their X-Electrical licenses.

The historic occasion also signaled a significant advancement for local training and education as three (3) Memoranda of Understanding were signed with international experts in the sphere of aviation:

• Art Williams & Harry Wendt Aeronautical Engineering School
• AgustaWestland (AW)
• Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation

AVIATION SYMPOSIUM “MANAGING TALENT FOR THE AVIATION VALUE CHAIN”

On Tuesday 11^th March 2014 UTT hosted its first Symposium on Aviation for local and international aviation stakeholders. The theme of the Symposium “Managing Talent for the Aviation Value Chain” saw some fifty-four (54) stakeholders from nineteen (19) international and local aviation-related institutions in attendance. The Symposium, which was formally launched by Senator the Honourable Fazal Karim, Minister of Tertiary Education and Skills Training, capped off two days of events dedicated to the aviation industry as the launch of the Trinidad and Tobago Aviation Institute took place just one day prior.