The Air & Space Institute (ASI) in Newark recently hosted some distinguished international guests as a team of aeronautic experts from training institution, IMA visited the facility as part of a reciprocal set of visits.
Director of international relations at Lincoln College, Rick Long, said: “We were delighted to reciprocate hosting our Moroccan colleagues from IMA and the British Council to showcase the approaches that the Lincoln College Group adopt to offer a world class education experience.
“The visit offered insight to the regional aerospace capability, and how a wide range of stakeholders engage, share knowledge and collaborate to build much needed skills and competency.
“LC will benefit from sharing of commercial courseware and composite material training by IMA staff.”
Lincoln College Group’s visit to Morocco meant engagement with a host of facilities, including the Moroccan aerospace industry membership body – Groupement des Industries Marocaines Aéronautiques et Spatiales (GIMAS), the Aerospace Moroccan Cluster (AMC), the Mohammed VI International Academy of Civil Aviation (AIAC), as well as site tours of industry leaders in Morocco, Groupe Le Piston Français (LPF) and Spirit Aerosystems.
GM of IMA, Raphael Samson, said: “Our visit to Lincoln College and its partners highlighted powerful synergies between the UK and Moroccan aerospace ecosystems.
“We were particularly inspired by their inclusive approach to female engagement in the sector, and by innovative educational practices such as immersive learning and evidence-based pedagogy. These insights open concrete opportunities to modernise our own training programs and foster high-impact international partnerships.”
To show the equivalent associations that the ASI has, the Moroccan cohort were taken to visit partners Ascent Flying Services, Affinity Flying Training Services Limited, Eagle Eye Innovations Ltd as well as meeting with Midlands Aerospace Alliance (MAA).
The Moroccan cohort had extensive tours of ASI, as well as visiting Newark College to speak with current and former students and staff and enjoyed some characteristically British hospitality, sampling a meal at the College-run Sessions Restaurant and seeing the College-run fine dining restaurant, The Old Bakery.
Rick added: “The project, funded by the British Council aims to help underscore different approaches adopted to encourage the recruitment of potential employees into the aviation sector. This is with a particular focus in increasing the balance of female representation.
“It also seeks to evaluate methods and resources that are used to train new recruits and how to upskill existing employees to provide an attractive, highly skilled and sustainable career pathway. This in turn, helps support the flow and retention of appropriately skilled talent into the aviation sector.
“Lincoln College will also benefit from sharing of commercial courseware and composite material training by IMA staff.”
Programme manager for Morocco at the British Council, Ali Mouzouni, said: “This visit was a valuable opportunity to deepen collaboration between UK and Moroccan institutions in the field of aeronautics training.
“From strong female engagement to innovative teaching methods and shared challenges in workforce development, the exchange helped surface synergies between our two ecosystems.
“It also reinforced the importance of partnerships in building future-ready technical and vocational education pathways.”
Commercial director at ASI, Stuart Naylor, said: “The purpose of this visit and the partners we shared with the visiting cohort was for them to understand the UK aerospace ecosystem and how different organisations engage, share knowledge and support each other and collaborate joining things up.
“There was a focus from both Ascent and Affinity on sharing their approaches to skills development, and promoting from within their own workforces, as well as sharing some strategies and initiatives that they have deployed to encourage females into the aviation workplace.
“MAA shared their role as a regional convener to share best practise and commercial/research opportunities to the aerospace community – they also outlined their work with other regional and international aerospace clusters.
“Our Moroccan guests were very complimentary on the attitude and behaviour of the students at the ASI who showed them around the ALSIM-AL250 flight simulator and the A320.”
Following a productive visit, the two organisations have agreed on several strategic priorities to strengthen their collaboration.
These include the development of revised training programmes informed by the now common shared expertise and joint efforts to promote careers in the sector.
There is now to be a focus on initiatives aimed at increasing female participation as well as specific skills shortages that will meet the industry’s particular needs. The partnership will also foster professional development and enrichment for staff and learners across both countries, reinforcing the long-term cross-border engagement that these visits have created.
