The PIA School for Aviation Maintenance will be hosting a public open house event on Saturday, May 14 at 11:00 a.m. at its Youngstown campus (1453, Youngstown-Kingsville Rd. NE, Youngstown).

"We are incredibly happy to resume our tradition of introducing potential students to PIA and providing our employers with the opportunity to share information about the positions for which they are recruiting," said PIA President and CEO, Suzanne Markle.

PIA administration and employers at the event will be available to discuss issues trending in aviation maintenance career education. 

Attendees will also tour the campus's classrooms and hangar, learn about the 16-month program, view interactive demonstrations, meet faculty and interact with current students.

Many factors including an aging aviation maintenance workforce and shortage of trained airframe and powerplant technicians have employers recruiting serious candidates as early as pre-enrollment.

The Boeing Technician Outlook, North America points to a need of 132,000 qualified aircraft maintenance technicians between 2021 and 2040 and 626,000 worldwide.

Markle says in addition to recruiting serious candidates as early as pre-enrollment, employers are partnering to raise career awareness prior to enrollment.

"One enrolled, employers are more frequently following students' progress to graduation and it's becoming more common for a student to receive an employment offer prior to graduation contingent on successfully completed the federal exam," Markle said.

In addition, PIA Associate Director of Career Services says employers are extending employment offers prior to graduation contingent on successfully completing the federal exam, often with a signing bonus starting at $2,500 along with other benefits.

On average, graduates accept a full-time position within 50 days of graduation across all four PIA campuses.