Wiregrass Ga. Tech. College receives $10K donation to support aviation program

FITZGERALD, Ga. (WALB) - One South Georgia technical college is thanking a corporation for helping them launch two new programs through a donation.

Wiregrass Georgia Technical College (WGTC) has received $10,000 from Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation to support a new aviation program coming to their Coffee County campus.

The program will consist of two sub-programs: aircraft structural and aviation maintenance.

“They will be working on the inside of the plane with our structural program, and they’re going to be working on the engine of the plane with our mechanic program. So having both really gives us a holistic approach,” DeAnnia Clements, president of WGTC, said. “Students are going to gain those skills while in high school as a dual enrollment student, be able to apply them immediately to the job and be able to find employment.”

Wiregrass leaders say these programs are a response to the need of employers in the industry.

Gulfstream Aerospace said in a statement, “through this collaboration, we hope to inspire students to pursue careers in the aerospace industry and prepare them to lead our industry into the future.”

“There’s projected to be 610,000 openings between 2022 and 2041 in the aviation industry,” Clements said. “So those are some very huge numbers. We want to make sure that we’ve got a workforce trained in South Georgia to meet the needs of those industries.”

WGTC leaders hope to launch the aircraft structural program in the spring semester of 2024, and the aviation maintenance program in the fall semester of 2024.

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