West Star Aviation Creates Training Academy Amid Worker Demand in Chattanooga, Other Sites

Oct. 26—West Star Aviation, which has a major aircraft maintenance operation at the Chattanooga Airport, is creating a companywide training academy to meet a demand for workers in the field.

The company is looking to add between 25 and 50 more employees to the 350 already in Chattanooga by 2024, said Debi Cunningham, the company's vice president of marketing.

" Chattanooga is one of the fastest-growing of our four locations," she said in a phone interview Thursday.

West Star plans to pilot test the academy at its East Alton, Illinois, operation because it has available hangar space, Cunningham said. The first round of training of about 25 apprentices is to start in January, she said.

They'll spend seven and a half months learning and earning full-time wages and benefits, according to West Star.

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