Pellissippi State launches new Aviation Technology program
The program is supported with an almost $2 million GIVE grant and will support workforce needs for employers like Cirrus Aircraft, StandardAero, PSA Airlines and Endeavor Air.
Pellissippi State Community College has officially launched its new Aviation Technology program.
The 18-month associate degree program is designed to create a pipeline of Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) Maintenance Technicians and provide students with high-demand and lucrative jobs. Together with the Blount Partnership and other regional aviation partners, Pellissippi State created the program in response to a labor shortage of aircraft mechanics.
“This is a great program,” said Patty Weaver, Vice President for External Affairs at Pellissippi, who has overseen efforts to gain accreditation for the program. “We are on the cusp of the aviation sector in this area growing exponentially, and we here at Pellissippi State are truly excited to be a part of it.”
The program’s first 25-person cohort met for the first time recently – with students ranging from recent high school graduates to retired pilots – and successful students will graduate from the program in fall 2026. Interest in the new program has been strong, with a waitlist already underway for the next cohort and plans underway to develop an evening cohort.
Students will complete the written and practical tests for A&P certification in conjunction with the program and will be qualified for entry-level aircraft mechanic jobs with local companies like Cirrus Aircraft, StandardAero, PSA Airlines and Endeavor Air, the regional subsidiaries for American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, respectively.
The program, based at Pellissippi’s Blount County campus and a nearby 22,500 square-foot facility, is an FAA Part 147 school, or Aviation Maintenance Technician School, designed to train aircraft maintenance technicians. It has received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, and the Tennessee Board of Regents.
In line with Pellissippi’s identity as a career-immersion institution, students will work on a variety of engines and electrical parts, and industry partners will teach them in the classroom and provide them with internship opportunities.
The program is supported with an almost $2 million GIVE grant from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee. Additional donations came from Cirrus Aircraft, Massey Electric, Standard Aero, Continental Aerospace Technologies, PSA, McGhee Tyson Airport, and several East Tennessee county and city governments. The 134th Air Refueling Wing even helped by transporting a 1952 Beechcraft 35 Bonanza to Pellissippi’s facility.
“It took a village for this to happen, and I commend our partners who stepped up and helped us,” Weaver said. “The collaboration of companies coming together to support this program has been incredible, and we couldn’t have done it without their support.”
Weaver pointed specifically to Blount Partnership’s support for the program.
The organization recently announced that it received a grant from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Workforce Invest program for continued support of aviation maintenance technology in East Tennessee, prioritizing “the growing demand for skilled workers in aviation and other high-tech industries,” said Blount Partnership Workforce Development Director Jessica Belitz.
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