Tuesday, 29^th May - Aer Lingus has today launched its annual Aircraft Maintenance & Engineering Apprentice Scheme. The airline, which has a proud and long history of apprenticeships, is offering 20 placements, double the previous years’ intake, as the airline continues to expand and develop new routes. There is a particular emphasis this year in attracting female applicants; three of the ten successful applicants last year were female.

Since Aer Lingus launched the Aircraft Apprentice Scheme in 2011, it has hired 46 apprentices via the programme. The new apprentice scheme is required by Aer Lingus to meet the demand for increased long and short haul flights, as well as increase in passenger numbers, new aircraft and an increase in new routes such as Philadelphia and Seattle which launched recently.

The Apprenticeship Scheme is a 4 year programme and is run in conjunction with SOLAS, based in Shannon and with DIT in Dublin. The four year training programme consists of 7 phases and through each phase successful applicants will move between class room training in either of the two facilities as well as on the job training at the Aer Lingus Maintenance and Engineering Hangar at Dublin Airport. Apprentices will be working primarily on line maintenance and will be focused on delivery of Aer Lingus’ guest experience.

The Apprentice Scheme comes at a significant time of growth for the company with expansion this year on our transatlantic routes, the introduction of two new A330s in 2017 and further new aircraft due in 2019 and 2020.

The application process will consist of a CV application. Applicants need to be 18 years of age by 1^st September 2018 with a minimum level of Junior Certificate however the process is also keen to hear from applicants with leaving certificate or degrees holders. Prospective Aer Lingus apprentices will need to be motivated and enthusiastic, be technically minded, have very good communication skills and work well in teams. Applicants should be dedicated to the programme and to a future career with Aer Lingus as at the end of the scheme the aim is for apprentices to be fully qualified aircraft engineers and continue to work at Aer Lingus.   

Aer Lingus Chief Technical Officer (and former Aer Lingus Apprentice), Fergus Wilson said:

“Aer Lingus has a proud history of providing young people with career opportunities. Following on from our recent Future Pilot recruitment announcement and substantial growth at the airline with introduction of new aircraft and new routes to Seattle and Philadelphia this year, we are delighted to be able to provide this apprentice scheme again to 20 new applicants.”

The application process for the 2018 programme is now underway at http://careers.aerlingus.com. The closing date for applications is Wednesday 6^th June, 2018.

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About Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus operates 62 aircraft on routes to destinations in the UK, Europe and North America and carry 12 million guests per annum. We are Ireland’s only 4-Star airline, awarded by Skytrax, the international air transport rating organisation.

Our mission is to connect Ireland to the world and to become the leading value carrier operating across the North Atlantic. Our home base is Dublin Airport, the only major airport in Europe to offer U.S preclearance, which enables passengers to save time on arrival in the U.S by completing all the necessary immigration and customs checks prior to departure. Our guests can choose from over 100 routes in Europe and 13 North American destinations with more than 100 onward connections across the U.S and Canada, available with our partner airlines.

Aer Lingus is a member of IAG (International Airlines Group).