Northeast State Community College (NeSCC) and Bell Helicopter Piney Flats have announced an educational collaboration to develop the next generation of aircraft technicians and aviation professionals. The collaboration is the foundation of a long-term strategy to promote advanced technical training throughout the region.

Bell Helicopter instructors will act in an advisory capacity to NeSCC regarding aviation-related course content. In addition, members of the Bell Helicopter Piney Flats team will serve on the curriculum steering committee to assist the college in the development of an aviation-specific curriculum to provide the foundational skills for the next generation of aviation professionals.

The college envisions this trained workforce will allow area employers to recruit from the local talent pool rather than seek prospective employees through national staffing agencies. The program is designed to create craftsmen with the foundational mechanical and electrical skills required in the aviation, automotive maintenance/repair, HVAC, industrial electricity and electronics industries, among others.

“The curriculum provides limitless opportunities for Tennessee and the region and fits within Gov. Bill Haslam’s initiatives to increase the number of Tennesseans with two-year and four-year degrees as well as technical certificates,” said Dr. Janice Gilliam, president of Northeast State.