SAIT students eye new jobs at De Havilland Field

The announcement of the new De Havilland Field at Wheatland County is exciting for all Calgarians, especially those studying aviation at SAIT.

SAIT and economic experts express how this new aviation plant will employ local graduates and skilled workers.

“You know it’s not just a SAIT story or a De Havilland story, it’s an aviation industry story in southern Alberta,” said Lynda Holden, dean for the school of aviation and technology at the Southern Alberta Institute of Information Technology (SAIT).

Time to rejoice for SAIT Aviation graduates and those planning to undertake aviation courses in Calgary, as De Havilland is working in partnership with SAIT to hire a workforce for their new plant, which has a capacity of 1500 new jobs.

“Sait has three aviation programs. We have the aircraft maintenance program, the aircraft structures, and the avionics program. So we’re well positioned to supply graduates in a workforce for De Havilland as it is. And then we’ll look beyond that,” said Holden.

Holden says the school also has adjacent programs like business which will benefit from the plant.

Economic Development experts say construction of the new De Havilland Field is beneficial for not only the educational institutions in Calgary but also the skilled workers living in Alberta.

“When you have young kids graduating from high school and going to local college and post-secondary is here,” said Patrick Mattern, vice president of business development at Calgary Economic Development.

“Now there is another stream of movement that can take you from an academic environment directly into the actual manufacturing in the industry as opposed to having to leave town. That cluster of 1,500 jobs is going to be an expansion to a whole new dimension for grads and for bringing people into the city,” said Mattern.