The Aviation Technical Education Council (ATEC) is petitioning the FAA to allow qualified high school students to take the agency’s General written test required for all prospective airframe and powerplant (A&P) certificate candidates.
Under FAA’s regulations, A&P candidates are required to have either specific work experience, such as an apprenticeship, or proof of completing required coursework at a “certificated aviation maintenance technician school (AMTS)” or Part 147 before taking tests. As part of its drive to attract more people to an aviation maintenance career and help close a significant skilled-worker shortage, ATEC spearheaded a program —Choose Aerospace—that makes General A&P courses available to high school students.
While their coursework is based on the latest FAA Aviation Mechanic Airman Certification Standards, Choose program schools are not FAA-approved Part 147 AMTS. Students that complete the Choose curriculum—which mirrors what they would get in a certified AMTS environment—still must meet the FAA’s rules to pass the first test required to earn an A&P license. The others cover Airframe and Powerplant and include both written and practical elements.
Fundamental aviation maintenance principles are taught in a classroom environment. But the FAA-mandated equipment, instructors and other resources for more advanced AMTS coursework requires space and investment beyond what most high schools can afford. Choose Aerospace bridges this gap by giving high school students a head start on another career option.
Permitting Choose Aerospace students to sit for the General written test would make their paths to a maintenance career both more direct and more likely, ATEC argues. Passing the test would put students one step closer to an FAA license, making them more attractive to prospective employers or more likely to enroll in a Part 147 school to continue their training.
Conversely, fear of testing is one of the most common hurdles students cite when asked why they have not sat for required A&P exams. One of the drivers are gaps between when students complete relevant courses and when they can sit for related exams. While the issue affects more than Choose Aerospace students, their hurdle is codified into FAA’s regulations.
“Under the current framework, a student who completes structured aviation maintenance instruction outside an AMTS cannot take the General Written Test until meeting the 18- or 30- month practical experience requirements,” ATEC said in its petition. “The student therefore cannot begin the FAA testing sequence even after completing [FAA standards-aligned] instruction and demonstrating mastery of the General knowledge elements.”
Granting ATEC’s request would permit successful Choose Aerospace students “to translate demonstrated General knowledge into a completed FAA testing milestone, reinforcing continued progress toward certification through AMTS training, qualifying employment, or an apprenticeship,” the association said.
Choose has grown steadily since its 2021 introduction. The program had 1,237 enrollees from 52 programs in 23 states this past school year, ATEC said in its petition. Several companies and AMTS have partnered with Choose high school programs as part of their workforce development pipelines, ATEC added.
The FAA accepted the petition and will begin a formal review process that will last at least four months. The petition will go through a public notice-and-comment period that is expected to open in the next few weeks.
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