HOUSTON – Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner joined United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby Tuesday at the signing ceremony officially debuting Calibrate, the airlines in-house apprenticeship program, and grand opening of its Technical Operations Recruitment Center at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport.
The ceremony officially registered Calibrate with the U.S. Department of Labor and launch the expansion of the program into other U.S. cities, according to the release.
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The event included tours of Hangar X, the airlines 370,000 square foot maintenance facility, and the company’s newest Technical Operations Recruitment Center, a one-stop shop where prospective and current Calibrate apprentices can learn more about and apply to the 36-month program, the release stated.
In November, United launched Calibrate to help grow and diversify its pipeline of Aircraft Maintenance Technicians, Ground Service Equipment maintenance technicians and facility maintenance technicians.
The airline plans to train more than 1,000 people by 2026 through the program, with the goal of at least half being women or people of color, according to the release.
Apprentices “earn and learn” - getting paid while completing the full-time certification and training process. The first apprentice cohort launched last November in Houston. The second cohort started this month in San Francisco, with plans to expand to numerous locations in 2023 including Denver, Orlando and Chicago.
United will start accepting external applications later this year as well - extending the program to its global employee base and external candidates.