Mayor Emanuel, City Colleges of Chicago and AAR Announce the Aviation Futures Training Center

Aviation sheet metalworking course will prepare students to earn $80,000 within five years

CHICAGO, Illinois, December 13, 2018 — Mayor Rahm Emanuel joined City Colleges of Chicago and AAR to announce the new Aviation Futures Training Center to train students in aviation sheet metalworking. AAR (NYSE:AIR), a global leader in aviation aftermarket services, will partner with Olive-Harvey College to prepare students for in-demand jobs in aviation, heavy manufacturing, boating, automotive repair, and HVAC.

“When you bring together the strengths of AAR and Olive-Harvey College, one plus one is much greater than two,” said Mayor Emanuel. “The Aviation Futures Training Center will prepare students with the high-quality education necessary to seize in-demand careers in aviation.”

The Center will launch in March 2019 as an extension of Olive-Harvey College’s Transportation, Distribution and Logistics (TDL) Center. The aviation sheet metalworking course prepares graduates for the CertTEC Certification with 300 hours of instruction and hands-on training with sheet metal from airplane fuselages.

“This joint effort highlights opportunities for Chicagoans to access rewarding, middle-income STEM careers that are relatively unknown to the public but are in high demand,” said City Colleges Chancellor Juan Salgado. “We are grateful to AAR for their commitment to the Aviation Futures Training Center and helping ensure that City Colleges offers programs relevant to the demands of today’s workforce.”

The Center will also expand its program offering to include composite repair. Students will receive training on how to work with this lighter and stronger material, which is increasingly used in industries such as aerospace, transportation, construction and more.

“The shortage of middle skills workers in aviation and manufacturing is at acute levels in deindustrialized cities in the Midwest, like Chicago,” said John Holmes, AAR President and Chief Executive Officer. “AAR is actively working with colleges to recruit and upskill workers to get them in the pipeline faster to address the short supply. We’re thrilled to be working with City Colleges’ Chancellor Juan Salgado and his team, and Mayor Emanuel’s Office to drive solutions.”

The program is part of AAR’s EAGLE Career Pathway program, which AAR is introducing at schools near its five U.S. aircraft repair stations. EAGLE demonstrates how students can earn portable, stackable skills and earn $80,000 or more annually within three to five years. The stackable skills will enable students who are interested to pursue the coveted position of FAA-certified airframe and powerplant (A&P) mechanic. There is a shortage of 189,000 aircraft mechanics in North America, according to a study by Boeing.

According to the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago, there were 58,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in Cook County last year, and one in three manufacturing workers in the metro area is over the age of 55.

For more information and to enroll in the program at Olive-Harvey College, visit www.ccc.edu/aviationtech or call (773) COLLEGE. 

About AAR
AAR is a global aftermarket solutions company that employs more than 6,000 people in over 20 countries. Based in Wood Dale, Illinois, AAR supports commercial aviation and government customers through two operating segments: Aviation Services and Expeditionary Services. AAR’s Aviation Services include inventory management; parts supply; OEM parts distribution; aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul; engineering services and component repair. AAR’s Expeditionary Services include airlift operations; mobility systems; and command and control centers in support of military and humanitarian missions. More information can be found at www.aarcorp.com.

Media contact: Daniela Pietsch, Vice President Corporate Marketing & Communications, at editor@aarcorp.com or +1 630-227-5100. 

This press release contains certain statements relating to future results, which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions and estimates based on information currently available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated, including those factors discussed under Item 1A, entitled “Risk Factors”, included in the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2018. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize adversely, or should underlying assumptions or estimates prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described. These events and uncertainties are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many are beyond the Company’s control. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. For additional information, see the comments included in AAR’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.