City moves $1.4M to get Aircraft Maintenance Engineering School going in near future

Students could begin at the new Aircraft Maintenance Engineering School within the next two years in Cold Lake.

City council is funding the necessary steps by voting to re-allocate a hair of $1.4 million from the YOD Terminal Development in the 2018 Capital Budget.

The partnership between the City of Cold Lake and Portage College has been working in the background for roughly three years. In April, they announced their shovel ready intention following the purchase of a curriculum.

Previously, a feasibility study for the school, a design for a building, and a first phase of the school to detailed design had already been done.

The safe target for launch is fall of 2026, but hopes are still there to even begin next fall.

Just some of the remaining tasks, according to City notes, include:

• Procurement of tools and equipment needed for practical training.
• Building renovations for labs.
• Purchase of initial consumables.
• IT infrastructure installation at hangar and terminal building.
• Possible need for 3 phase power.

The facility at the Cold Lake Regional Airport is designed to accommodate training space for instruction in AME-S, AME Maintenance (AME-M), a pilot school, as well as flex space for training or industry looking for space for unmanned aerial vehicle training, maintenance, or operations in the region.

The City also believes the move is smart strategically, with the implementation of the F-35 fighter program with 4 Wing Cold Lake.