Fallatah said Alsalam had signed an agreement with the Riyadh-based King Saud University to hire and train Saudi candidates in aviation.
“Alsalam has been following an ambitious plan under which it has been hiring Saudis and providing them with the best training opportunities, career development programs, benefits and compensation,” he said, adding that Alsalam has also signed a one-year contract with Montreal’s Aveos Fleet Inc.
This contract, he said, would cover repair and maintenance of eight Pratt and Whitney JT9D-7A jet engines. The work will be done in Aveos’ main plant at Trudeau airport in Dorval.
Aveos Vice President Jim Andrews said that Aveos, which sprang from the 2007 spin-off of the former Air Canada Technical Services, has more than 30 years of experience in this sector.
This company, he said, has been involved in maintaining, repairing and overhauling the JT9D engine family and has a strong relationship with Alsalam.
“The deal is in line with Aveos’ plans to develop long-term links with all aerospace industry members, from airlines, MROs, manufacturers and lessors, and to diversify geographically,” said Andrews in a press statement sent to Arab News Tuesday.
Referring to the Alsalam-KSU tie-up, Fallatah said the five-year MoU with this Saudi university will enhance the future cooperation opportunities between the two parties, especially in the field of training and employment.
“The KSU’s colleges, the College of Business Administration (CBA) in particular, will contribute more to boost cooperation in training and hiring because the college will be the link point under the cooperation accord,” said CBA Dean Ahmad Al-Amerie.
In December, Alsalam signed a similar MoU with King Abdullah Research and Consulting Institute (KARCI) of King Saud University to boost cooperation in several projects in aviation.
Alsalam, a joint venture company operating as part of the Kingdom’s Economic Offset Program, is an essential contributor to the Kingdom’s strategy to develop self-sufficiency in the field of civil and military aircraft maintenance and modification.
