The success of Etihad Flight College in Al Ain underscores the UAE’s position as a major international aviation hub. As The National reported yesterday, the college has an intake of up to 120 cadets each year and trains pilots for Etihad and other international airlines. Significantly, 230 Emirati pilots have graduated from the college since 2006. The institute insists on cadets having an aviation science degree and it trains in English under a programme that prepares graduates for immediate second officer status on commercial airlines.
The college complements three other UAE institutions – the Emirates Aviation College, Gulf Centre for Aviation Studies and Dubai Aviation College – that provide higher education in aviation studies and airport operations. Together, they will help the UAE to address its own growing needs for airline and airport staff, and the needs of the region. A report from Boeing reveals that the Middle East will need more than 6,000 pilots and technicians each year over the next two decades.
But it’s not just in pilot training that the UAE is making its mark. The aviation industry has been growing steadily, contributing to the diversification of the economy and creating a large number of jobs in a wide range of sectors. The sector is expected to contribute Dh194.5 billion to the economy by 2020.
Mubadala’s Strata Manufacturing plant, also in Al Ain, is building aircraft components for both Boeing and Airbus, and will employ a further 600 people by 2017. The country’s three major airports – Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al Maktoum – are all growing, building infrastructure and creating hundreds of jobs on the ground and in the air.
With a record-breaking 68.9 million passengers transiting Dubai International alone last year, the economic potential is obvious.
