In the interview prepared by Kaunas IN Business Division, Mr Čepukas is stating that it is very clear that in the near future the demand for specific specialists will grow dramatically, for example, for mechanics who are experts in avionics and composites and aviation electricians.
The main KAM’s activity is the maintenance of Ryanair aircraft. It started operations in 2012 with just one hangar and 45 employees. A year later, the second hangar was opened, doubling the company’s capacity and increasing the number of employees to 100. Today the company has over 200 employees.
The shortage of skilled staff is the main challenge for the company’s growth. Therefore, KAM started to closely collaborate with educational institutions.
“Since the beginning of this year, we have been cooperating with Kaunas University of Technology, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Kaunas Mechanical School and Kaunas Technical College – all these educational institutions train aircraft engineering and mechanics-related specialists. The graduates are further training in the company to adjust their abilities and skills to the company’s needs”, says Mr Čepukas.
According to him, aviation industry representatives in Lithuania understand very well that to help existing companies grow and attract new ones, there must be a good pool of employees: “We know that by producing well-trained aviation engineers, mechanics and other specialists, the aviation industry could repeat the success story of the IT industry in Lithuania.”
Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) is responding to the needs of the growing market: in 2016, first in Europe aeroengineering cluster, uniting educational and business institutions has been created.
Avia Practica work placement model has been introduced in the KTU Aviation Engineering study programme. According to Avia Practica, the students will have two semesters during the four years of studies for expanding their specialisation skills: for going abroad on study exchange, or for choosing work placement in an aviation company.
It is being estimated that aviation industry companies could employ about 250 professionals today.
