General News
14 November, 2026
Grads soaring high
AN aviation skills training leader has reached a milestone of 1000 graduates in 24 years.
The milestone was marked with a special ceremony at Cairns Aviation Skills Centre on Thursday last week when a class of 22 students officially completed their course, tipping the school’s graduate numbers over four figures for the first time.
Aviation Australia North Queensland business manager Chris Pigott said the school’s founders could never have imagined its impact when they opened the centre in 2004.
“They never would have dreamed that we would produce 1000 people in Cairns for the aviation industry,” he said.
“This milestone truly illustrates the value of having a dedicated, hands-on training provider right here in Cairns.
“Our graduates obtain skills that are in high demand. I am proud to say Cairns’ aviation industry is supporting local employment while also fortifying the future of the sector and growing our region into a national-leading destination for aircraft maintenance and repair.”
The centre, through training provider Aviation Australia, offers three specialist courses aimed at fast-tracking students into aircraft maintenance engineering: Certificate IV in Aeroskills (Avionics), Certificate IV in Aeroskills (Mechanical) and Certificate II in Aircraft Line Maintenance, a school-to-work pathway which readies students for further qualifications. Students may be eligible for funding support through the Queensland
Government’s Career Start and Career Boost programs, with aircraft maintenance engineering categorised as a high-priority industry.
Graduate Acacia Russell fell in love with aviation after obtaining her pilot licence at age 15 and said she hadn’t looked back.
“I’ve loved it ever since I was little. I did my pilot license at 15 and just fell in love with it even more,” she said.
“For someone who wants to try an aviation career, I’d say go for it. It’s expanding and it’s just going to expand even more.”
Graduate Tekoah Murray said what inspired her to pursue a career in aviation was “the opportunity of being able to work on really complex systems and, not only help the community, but really get my hands into some really interesting practical work”.
‘Everybody here really cares about what you’re doing,” she said.
“They care about whether or not you all have, like, we all have jobs. What we’re learning about, if we understand what we’re learning about, the application of the theory to the practical as well.”
Graduate Levi Flint said Aviation Australia had prepared him by making him more exposed in the industry, as well as showing him all the different theory behind a lot of the different components and modules needed to complete to graduate.
“There’s also been a great insight into a lot of the practical components we’ve done here, which gives you some more skills around what you’ll be using, what different tools and materials you’ll be using and how to solve different problems,” he said.
Graduate Tas Davies said being able to build a career in Cairns meant he could be with his family.
“I don’t have to go interstate. The most valuable part of the training has been the instructions from the instructors. They’ve been great. They’ve been very helpful and very knowledgeable,” he said.
Cairns Airport chief executive officer Richard Barker said local training pathways were crucial for ongoing industry growth and investment.
He said the city’s Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) industry contributed more than $36 million annually to the local economy and globally it was growing rapidly.
