Alex Armata Connects Education, Career as First Apprenticeship Graduate
It is said that learning is a passport to new worlds. For Alex Armata, moving to Charlotte from his native Massachusetts connected him to new worlds in ways he never expected.
Working for Delta Air Lines in a job he liked, Armata wanted more. One day, he asked a friend how to work for the City of Charlotte Aviation Department, the owner and operator of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. That led him to the Aviation Apprenticeship Program, where he became the first hire.
“The program helps students and people who are interested in our trade positions,” said Workforce Development & Outreach Manager Alison Mitchell. “Students are able to work to gain on the job experience and all of their tuition is covered.”
When Armata wasn’t on the job as a conveyor loading bridge technician, he was taking community college classes and learning his trade at Charlotte’s Central Piedmont. On April 19, he and Dalton Davis, an HVAC technician, became the first graduates of the Apprenticeship Program. Both finished their coursework in December.
“Alex was so eager to learn that we established a program where we incorporated students working with mentors to gain that on-the-job experience,” Mitchell said.
In a way, the 29-year-old helps connect his hometown of Boston to his new home city of Charlotte, making sure all the jet bridges used by passengers to get on and off airplanes are safe and properly working.
“Every day is different,” Armata said. “One day I’ll find myself repairing a jet bridge, another day I’ll be troubleshooting, welding or replacing electronics.”
The Aviation Department’s Apprenticeship Program, chartered in 2017, provides both educational and on-the-job experience. Upon completion, an apprentice can lead the program with a North Carolina State Apprenticeship certificate, Associate Degree or Certificate from Central Piedmont and job placement within the Aviation Department.
Since Armata and Davis completed the program, apprenticeship positions in airfield maintenance for an electrician and a heavy diesel mechanic apprentice in fleet maintenance have been filled. The Aviation Department also is looking to add two additional programs including plumbing and graphic design.
“It’s a great program,” Mitchell said. “It really impacts participants’ lives and enhances their long-term career development.”
Education. Career. Better quality of life. Those connections, without any out-of-pocket costs, led to a life-changing opportunity. Armata is now a full-time Aviation Department employee.
“This program allowed me to get a free education, get a degree, learn a great trade and I got some great skills out of it. It was truly a life-changing opportunity for me.”
Connections don’t just happen at the terminal.
