Touchdown for industry

Jamshedpur, Dec. 7: After the banking and IT sectors, it is now the turn of the aviation industry to land in the steel city to pick up employees.

City-based Toubro Aviation Private Limited, the only pilot training institute in the state, has decided to set up a placement wing for its students.

In a bid to streamline operations and provide better career opportunities to students, the institution is negotiating with leading airlines.

“Jobs have never been a problem for our students. But with the demand for pilots on the rise, we have decided to launch a placement wing so that our students will not have to go hunting for jobs,” said Deepak Jha, manager of commercial operations, Toubro.

Refusing to name the companies that are likely to touchdown once the placement wing takes off, Jha said: “An MoU would be signed with the companies once we both agree on the same plans.”

Sources said the institute is negotiating with Kingfisher Airlines and Paramount Airlines.

Such an arrangement would be a win-win situation for both parties, as it would help the airline companies reduce training costs and help students get better offers, added Jha.

“These days, most airlines recruit students after Plus Two and then train them, spending lots of money in the process,” he said.

With this move, Toubro Aviation would get into the league of institutes such as the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Udaan Academy in Fursatganj, which is pro- bably the only institute in India to provide placement to pilots.

“This agreement would mean a major leap in our operations, as prior to this, our students had to venture out to find jobs,” said the manager.

Meanwhile, the institute is looking at acquiring advanced aircraft to train students.

“Our parent company in Chandigarh is planning to acquire several advanced planes and, if feasible, they would surely be brought here for training,” said Jha.

A two-member team from the company is visiting the USA to negotiate for a B-200 aircraft.

The pilot training institute, which resumed operations this February after a hiatus of four years, has 35 students who will graduate by April 2007.

The present batch comprises 31 boys and four girls.