Dual enrollment at the Alabama Aviation Center, while holding steady overall, is seeing a record amount of Straughn High School students.

David Craft is director of the AAC, a unit of Enterprise State Community College and located on the South Alabama Regional Airport campus in Sanford. Craft said Wednesday that there are 12 overall students in the dual enrollment program – eight from SHS, one from Opp High School; one from Brantley High and two OHS graduates.

“Students in Straughn are really taking advantage of the program,” Craft said, of the college path that allows students to earn a Federal Aviation Administration airframe and Powerplant certificate.

Craft said a recent search on an industry website revealed more than 1,000 jobs available nationwide in aircraft maintenance.

“That means the jobs are out there,” he said. “Students obtain skills at the Alabama Aviation Center that could get them a job in aircraft maintenance anywhere in the U. S.”

The program is available to students in the 10th through 12th grades with an overall 2.5 GPA who earn a score of 37 or higher in math and a 70 or higher in reading on the college COMPASS test.

The national average hourly wage is between $14 to $30 for certificate holders, Craft said.

“What is so great about the program is that the students tuition at the present time is paid for by a grant,” he said. “Also, by taking these courses while in high school, they get a chance to shorten the time it takes them to get their Airframe and Power-plant certificate compared to other students who did not take these classes. It saves them time and money.

“Plus it gives students a chance to look into aviation and determine if it’s really for them or not,” he said.

Classes began Aug. 19.

For more information, call Craft at 334-222-0133.