NVCC Now Offering An Internship Program

WATERBURY — Naugatuck Valley Community College (NVCC) became the first college in Connecticut to sign an agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that creates an internship program to provide the FAA with a pipeline of qualified electronics technician candidates.

Over the next five years, it is expected that at least half of the current FAA electronics technicians, who repair and maintain the FAA equipment used to monitor and direct aircraft, will either be retired or eligible to retire.

The internship through NVCC is open to students enrolled in the college’s electronic engineering technology program. It sends students to work part-time at either Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks or Tweed New Haven Regional Airport. They are paid according to established annual pay schedules, which begin at $18,100 and must complete at least 640 hours of work while continuing their studies. Two NVCC students have already begun working at Bradley and Tweed as part of a pilot program for the project.

The internship also gives students and advantage in getting hired full-time at the FAA because the agency can hire them for permanent positions without having to first consider the list of candidates established from applications nationwide.

“This program creates a gateway to a career in the FAA,” said NVCC President Richard L. Sanders. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for our students to get hands-on training in an important, high tech field and to get an enhanced opportunity to pursue full-time employment there.”

NVCC has longstanding ties with the FAA. It is the only college in Connecticut with a degree program in aviation science. That program includes a core curriculum of aviation science and two elective areas that allow students to specialize in either aviation management or professional pilot training.

The college also provides FAA training seminars.