• Beginning of operation scheduled for the first half of 2022 with an initial installed capacity for 100 students
  • It responds to OGMA’s needs for the coming years and will train qualified labour for the Portuguese aeronautical and defence cluster
  • OGMA will have to hire more than 300 new employees over the next five years
  • idD Portugal Defence considers that training professionals is essential for the competitiveness of the Defence Economy

A protocol was signed today for the launch, in the first half of 2022, of the Aeronautical Academy of Portugal, in the presence of the Prime Minister, the Minister of National Defence and the CEO of Embraer. This agreement, which involves OGMA, idD Portugal Defence, the Consortium of Engineering Schools and the AED Cluster, provides that this new structure will have an initial installed capacity for 100 students.

The Aeronautical Academy intends, at first, to respond to OGMA’s needs for qualified labour, which has to respond to new business opportunities, such as the contract signed with Pratt & Whitney, in 2020, and now reinforced with a new engine.

In this context, OGMA is now recognized as an Authorized Maintenance Center for new generation engines (GTF), under which the company will have to hire more than 300 new employees over the next five years.

The Academy is, therefore, a strategic commitment by OGMA to ensure the resources and know-how necessary for the company’s sustainable growth.

On the other hand, the Aeronautical Academy intends to reinforce and consolidate the knowledge and technical-scientific skills of professionals in the aeronautical and defence cluster, opening the Aeronautical Academy to the outside world, leveraging its activity.

The focus on integration, qualification and training of new resources aims to overcome a gap in the sector, characterized by a lack of specialized knowledge on a large scale, which impedes its effective consolidation and growth.

The requalification of this Academy is scheduled for the first half of 2022, operating on the premises of OGMA, which will invest around 1 million euros in the project. It will train 50 OGMA employees per year with theoretical and practical training and 50 additional students, within the scope of the part 147 EASA certification, specific certification of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and will also provide highly qualified training in the different branches of engineering.

Alexandre Solis, CEO of OGMA, considers the Academy “a strategic project for OGMA and for Portugal. We will form qualified and excellent know-how to satisfy both the company’s needs and to boost the sector at an international level. It is an essential partnership for the future of Portuguese aeronautics and an excellent example of collaboration between OGMA and idD Portugal Defence”.

For the Chairman of the Board of idD Portugal Defence, Marco Capitão Ferreira, “Today the Aeronautical Academy and last month the Academia do Arsenal are part of the strategy that has been implemented by idD Portugal Defence, to contribute to a more competitive Defense Economy. This is a sector with high technological intensity, and productivity and qualification above the average of the rest of the economy, with opportunity for application both in the military and in the civil domain.”