MOSES LAKE - Big Bend Community College will offer a free three-week class for potential aviation mechanics students. The class begins Nov. 5.

The discipline is called aviation mechanics technician and it's a field where qualified workers are in high demand, Dan Moore, aviation maintenance technology instructor, said. Classes are from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday night from Nov. 5 to 21. Attendance at all classes is required, Moore said.

"This is for people who want to explore a new career in an aerospace discipline that has job openings locally and throughout the state," Moore said.

Participants will learn about the careers available to people in aviation technology, and will work on the airframes (the body) and engines of fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. Instructors also will introduce them to the college's new composites technology lab.

"It gives them a sample of what a job in aerospace actually looks like," Moore said.

One new employer, Aviation Technical Services, has opened a facility "just down the ramp from our classrooms," he said. The company joins other aerospace businesses already at the airport, Moore said, expanding the job openings available locally.

The aviation maintenance program increased capacity last year and is actively recruiting new students, Doug Sly, the college's public information officer, said. The class is being funded through the Air Washington Grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor. The aviation composites program was funded through a different grant, Sly said.

People who want more information can contact coordinator Tiffany Janosov, 509-793-2376 or [email protected], or register at the admissions office, 509-793-2061 or [email protected].