Iberia, along with the Madrid regional government, is one of the first companies to develop a dual training programme similar to the German system, with the aim of reducing unemployment among the young. Under the dual system, students attend classes in a training school and while receiving paid on-the-job training in companies.
The Madrid regional government chose the Raúl Vázquez on-the-job - vocational - technical college to work with Iberia in developing a training plan for some students, lasting two years, and equivalent to the advanced level of standard professional training in aviation mechanics.
The programme’s total of 2,577 training hours include 790 class hours in the Raúl Vázquez school and the rest, or about 70% of the total, in Iberia. The airline will also give them an educational cooperation grant while they train.
At Iberia Aircraft Maintenance Instruction Centre the students will sit for five different units of advanced aviation mechanics training and meet other requirements for earning the Aviation Maintenance Licence allowing them to certify the proper completion of maintenance tasks, and making it easier for them to find jobs.
The company assigns them a tutor and a teaching team to devise and impart the curriculum. The students receive theory and practical training for four months in the Instruction Centre, as well as in Iberia maintenance hangars and workshops in Madrid. Then they work in Iberia installations from January through September, and after completing coursework can sit for examinations to earn qualifications as Advanced Aviation Technicians – it will be the first time this title is earned thank to the dual training.