The Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics (PIA) is holding a ribbon cutting on September 20 for an expansion of its Youngstown-Warren (Ohio) branch that will provide room for an array of aviation technical courses. PIA, which has been training aviation maintenance technicians at the Youngstown branch since 2006, last year invested $1.3 million to purchase the site and build the new facility.

The two-story teaching facility at PIA’s Hangar 3 site will house electrical and welding classrooms, an aeronautics lab, a conference facility, administrative offices and a student resource center with a computer lab. An adjacent hangar will add shop areas for aircraft propulsion systems, electricity, sheet metal, hydraulics, instruments and controls, composite materials, non-destructive testing, welding and painting.

“Our expansion is a continued expression of the Youngstown region’s strong history in aviation,” said PIA president and CEO Suzanne Markle. “Our investment in our facilities and our students is in response to strong career demand.” PIA cited the 2016 Boeing Pilot and Technical Outlook that predicts a need for 679,000 maintenance technicians through 2035.