British Airways Extends Its US Engineering Cadet Program To New York

British Airways has opened applications in New York for its Engineering Cadet Scheme. Under the five-year program, six students will receive full scholarships to train as aviation engineers and have a direct pathway to a job at BA. The airline will support a total of 12 engineers with the fully funded scheme and has already onboarded six cadets in Chicago last month.

British Airways open engineer cadet scholarship in New York

In partnership with the Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM), the British carrier is bringing its fully funded $2m Engineering Cadet Scheme to New York to support the next generation of aviation maintenance technicians (AMTs). The airline is the first international carrier to support an Engineering Cadet Scheme with AIM – the five-year program will consist of two years of foundational training at AIM, followed by three years of “intensive onboarding training” at BA’s facility in London Heathrow Airport (LHR) – which the carrier describes as “on-the-job training” – before gaining their CRS (Certificate of Release to Service).

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

British Airways Chief Technical Officer, Andy Best, commented,

“As we have seen through our exceptional Engineering apprentice scheme in the UK, investing in future technicians is vital, and this program will aid in building a pipeline of future engineers in bases across America.”

The program is open to all students from AIM campuses and will remain open until December 20th, 2024. In order to meet eligibility requirements, applicants must complete AIM’s A&P program with a minimum 2.8 GPA and showcase a strong passion for aviation engineering.

Photo: Philip Pilosian | Shutterstock

The carrier said it hopes to expand its engineering cadet scheme to other cities in the US next year. North America is BA’s most lucrative market, with the airline set to operate a record number of US flights next summer – during peak periods it will operate over 400 weekly flights after adding frequencies to popular destinations like Miami and Las Vegas. As per data from Cirium, the airline will serve 26 US destinations this month, as seen in the table below.

Practical, hands-on experience

Cadets will gain first-hand knowledge by shadowing BA’s 153-strong US-based engineer team. After completing the scheme, cadets will start work as AMTs at New York JFK (JFK) and Newark Liberty (EWR), where they will service and maintain the British carrier’s diverse transatlantic fleet and provide assistance to its partner airlines. As Simple Flying recently explored, BA deploys seven different aircraft types across its US network:

• Airbus A350-1000
• Airbus A380
• Boeing 777-200ER
• Boeing 777-300ER
• Boeing 787-8
• Boeing 787-9
• Boeing 787-10

Photo: Ceri Breeze | Shutterstock

One of the new female apprentices recruited in Chicago last month, Faith Rono, praised the scheme for going “above and beyond” to support cadets. Successful applicants will receive a range of benefits to support their lives, including tuition reimbursement, medical and dental, paid leave, a 401k plan and travel benefits. The airline also states that graduates will have opportunities for advancement within the company, such as in management positions.