Weston College with the support of their partners GKN Aerospace launched an aviation industry high-skilled personnel training project with Jiangsu Jingjiang Secondary Specialized School in China today (18th January 2022).

Whilst in the midst of a global pandemic it would be reasonable to assume that overseas partnerships would stall or cease entirely. Contrary to this, Weston College’s initial foray into the international arena has seen significant progress with the official signing of the partnership.

Utilising technology to overcome vast geographical distances, the College’s work with Jingjiang School, in developing a bespoke aerospace manufacturing training centre, has continued to progress on schedule with the official signing ceremony involving Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive, Weston College Group, Mr Weiguo Gu, Jingjiang Secondary Specialized School, Principal, Mr Paul Collinson, Operations Director – China, GKN Aerospace Services Ltd, Mr Gang Xu, Jingjiang Secondary Specialized School, Vice Principal, Mr Longfei Li，Human Resources Director of Kafei, Mr Jing Wang, Vice Director, Jingjiang Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee.

The project involves the development, implementation and ongoing quality assurance of aerospace manufacturing training, onsite at Jingjiang School. Jingjiang School will provide the highly skilled workforce required to operate an aerospace manufacturing facility for a joint venture (JV) partnership involving GKN Aerospace, AVIC International and Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Co. Ltd (SAMC – subsidiary of COMAC).

The training of the employees for the JV facility involves the development of a range of specific skills and capabilities in manufacturing and assembling of metallic and composite aircraft structure, e.g., aircraft fuselage, wings, and empennage. This is the first of its kind in the Jiangsu Province.

The state-of-the-art, 80,000m2 facility in Jingjiang will offer COMAC, AVIC and Western customers the opportunity to access an important local supply of advanced aerostructures in the country.

The JV builds on COMAC, AVIC and GKN Aerospace’s proven track record in the global commercial aviation industry. Production is scheduled to begin in Q4 2023, and the workforce is expected to grow to 1,000 employees.

Jiangsu Jingjiang School are a large specialized vocational school that caters primarily to students of a similar age range to UK Further Education colleges. Jingjiang School, similar to Weston College, has an outstanding reputation through delivery of excellent outcomes for learners with employment rates, pass rates and student satisfaction rates in the high nineties year-on-year. The School boasts a national level engineering training centre with 85 practical laboratories and workshops specialising in electrical and electronical, hydraulics and pneumatics, numerical control machining, computer networking technologies, and automobile maintenance.

Aerospace manufacturing will be a new strand of activity for the school, drawing on the expertise and established educational systems currently delivered at Weston College.