St. Cloud Technical & Community College Launches New Aviation Maintenance Program to Address Industry Workforce Needs

(KNSI) – St. Cloud Technical & Community College held a ceremony at the St. Cloud Regional Airport on Wednesday to celebrate the campus’s launch of a new program to keep planes aloft.

Grant Dossetto/KNSI News

SCTCC received part of a $13.5 million Industry Sector Funding Award to bring the program to central Minnesota. Metropolitan Airports Commission Executive Director and CEO Brian Ryks is in charge of Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, a Delta Airlines hub. Officials were invited down to Atlanta to hear a presentation from company officials, where some startling facts were shared.

Ryks told KNSI News that Delta alone had a tremendous amount of experience that walked away during the COVID years, resulting in the loss of 570,000 years of experience. “The airports commission, heard about it and decided to really take the bull by the horns and get people together and make something happen. And that’s the result of all of us standing here today.”

Ryks says the program and a ballooning pipeline of aircraft mechanics could mean more testing from Delta and others done in the state, which would provide high-paying jobs.

He explained why they picked SCTCC to teach the next generation of airport mechanics. “There was a hole here in central Minnesota, so this is a fantastic area to start this program. We’ve got a good population base. It can bring in students from around the area. So, this is a perfect fit for aviation in St Cloud.”

SCTCC’s AMT program will align with local and state industry needs and provide students with work-based learning. The local technical college will be the fourth campus in the state to offer the program, and it plans to welcome the first class in the fall of 2026. The first graduates are expected in May 2028.

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