2/25/2014 3:16:42 PM
You could say Joel Moores’ fascination with airplanes is a family trait. With a father who was both a pilot and an air traffic controller, Joel had a lot of exposure to the world of aviation growing up. So when it came time to spread his wings, aviation was the only option for this St. John’s native.
“My father’s fascination must have rubbed off on to me. He would always point them (planes) out and tell me about the different types so when the option of fixing them for a career came up, it seemed like an obvious choice.”
Joel originally wanted to be an engineer, but lacked the necessary motivation after high school.
“I was enrolled in the engineering program at Memorial University of Newfoundland for a year and a half but couldn’t handle the work load. I was too young, distracted and not focused.”
It was time for Joel to re-evaluate his career aspirations, that’s when he turned to College of the North Atlantic’s (CNA) Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Technology (AMET) program at Gander campus.
“I wanted to have a physically active job. I wanted to work with my hands. I cringed at the idea of working behind a desk in a cubicle. My father used to be in aviation and suggested I look into aircraft maintenance. To me, it looked like the most interesting choice when compared to other typical trades.”
CNA offers the only AMET program in the province and Joel had family living in Gander that he could stay with, which helped cement his decision to enroll in the program.
“That and you can’t beat the price. I’d be in a whole lot of debt if I chose to go somewhere else. There’s no point in going anywhere else when you can be close to home, with a very reputable program.”
Once he started the program he knew he had made the right decision.
“Whether it was my classmates, or the course material, I really enjoyed the program. I rarely had that ‘why do I need to know this?’ question pop in to my head. I’m sure I’ve used and built on skills and knowledge from every course we took in Gander.”
Joel graduated in April 2009 and decided to take advantage of the college’s transfer agreement to obtain a degree through the Institute of Technology in Carlow, Ireland. Under the agreement, he was granted credit for the first two years of the three-year bachelor of engineering in Aircraft Systems.
“I did a lot of my own research and once I had a means of funding the idea, I decided to go for the overall experience. I knew I’d end up coming back to work in Canada. I went for the adventure of living abroad and the opportunity to travel around Europe.”
And he certainly did get to travel – extensively touring Ireland and visiting the United Kingdom, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and France.
“I would definitely recommend studying at Carlow to anyone who is interested in going. The program is challenging and has a lot of theory, but I vastly improved my knowledge of aircraft systems,” Joel said. “The other students in my class were very friendly and welcoming. I quickly made life-long friends and was able to really experience Ireland through them. Over all it was one of the best years of my life and I have zero regrets.”
Joel graduate from the Institute of Technology in May of 2011. The 28-year-old now lives in Nova Scotia where he works for Jazz Aviation LP, formerly known as Air Canada Jazz, at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport. He says the combined training from CNA and Carlow prepared him perfectly for his career.
“The training at CNA prepared me the most for what I’m doing now as an AMET. The education I received in Carlow complemented that training and furthered my knowledge to help me understand my work that much more,” he said.
“I would absolutely recommend the program at CNA, especially now that I’ve been around for a little bit. The program in Gander has an excellent reputation throughout the aviation community in Canada for producing quality graduates. If anyone is interested in studying aircraft maintenance, Gander is the place to go.”
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Media Contact:
Glenda McCarthy
Public Relations Specialist
College of the North Atlantic
709.643.6408
glenda.mccarthy@cna.nl.ca