The 10th anniversary of the opening of the Cairns Aviation Skills Centre (CASC) will be celebrated in July with a dinner event for state and federal representatives, and for existing and former directors and staff.
A campus of the Brisbane-based Aviation Australia, the CASC was established in 2004 in response to industry demand to provide skilled apprentices locally and to enable the facilitation of aviation training in Cairns. Previously, trainees were required to travel to Brisbane to complete their training.
“The benefit to local industry is only set to grow with our facility planning to expand its offerings this year and in response to the introduction of new aircraft types such as the new Boeing 787, which is built primarily from composite materials and carbon fibre and requires new aircraft specific training,” CASC business manager Chris Pigott said. “CASC will be the first centre in the region to offer composite training and this training is essential for aviation staff to master the different build and operation of the new aircraft.”
The facility provides internationally recognised training for apprentices in aircraft mechanics and electronics, flight attendant training, and ATPL pilot theory, and is a CASA and EASA approved examination centre. It is located in the general aviation precinct of the Cairns Airport, and comprises eight large classrooms and a fully operational hangar and training equipment.
CASC has graduated 514 apprentices since it opened, and a total of 6,640 aviation industry members have undertaken training at the facility.
