Kenya Airways in partnership with the Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group has donated an aircraft to Mang’u High School to boost its aviation training.
KCB will spend Sh5 million to facilitate the transfer of the Boeing 737-700 from the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Mang’u in Thika.
This is part of the lender’s initiative with the institution to scale its aviation training program.
KCB Group will also facilitate the equipping of the school’s aviation center which seeks to provide students with hands-on experience in aviation and prepare them for careers in the industry.
“KCB remains committed in supporting the youth agenda and that includes access to skills development, business development support and financing. We believe that a strong investment in our youth today is a recipe for economic growth,” KCB Group CEO Paul Russo while making the donation.
“Through this sponsorship, our goal is to inspire students to take up a career in the aviation sector with a long-term goal of mainstreaming it in our curriculum.”
The five-year program is expected to train a critical mass of future air traffic controllers, aircraft engineers, pilots, among others.
Mang’u is one of the few high schools in Kenya that offer aviation training, focusing on technical skills such as propulsion, thermodynamics, and meteorology.
The aviation students undertake most of their studies at Wilson Airport and Moi Air Base in Eastleigh.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support we have received from KCB and other organizations. We believe that a strong aviation program is essential for preparing students for the future in this field, ” said the School’s Board of Management Chairman Anthony Maina Mithanga.
Kenya has a deficit of over 2,000 pilots with an ambition of training at least 800 annually in the next five years.
Customized training where we…
Customized training where we match skills to industry demands will reduce the number of countless unemployed graduates who are at times forced to use their skills to commit crimes because they are jobless and have to eat. Now we need schools that teach wind power panels manufacturing or manufacture of fertilizers; 2 products and services in high demand in Kenya.