CONTACT:
Brian Baluta
Director of Communications and Partner Relations
(321) 638-2000
BBaluta@SpaceCoastEDC.org

Embraer hires four new Eau Gallie High School Aviation Assembly and Fabrication Program graduates

EDC praises as good sign for Space Coast Economy

 

MELBOURNE, Fla. (August 17, 2020) – Four new graduates from Eau Gallie High School’s (EGHS) Aviation Assembly and Fabrication Program know exactly what they are going to do this summer – begin careers in advanced manufacturing working on state-of-the-art aircraft while earning great wages and benefits. Embraer, which manufactures several lines of executive jets in Melbourne snatched up the candidates who are products of one of Brevard Public Schools’ career and technical education (CTE) choices.

“With all the uncertainty in the world, to have a manufacturer the quality of Embraer find a rich talent pipeline in our local schools bodes well for the future of Brevard County’s economy,” said Lynda Weatherman, president and CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast (EDC), which helped launch the program and secured EGHS’ first teaching aircraft. “During the last decade, we’ve strategically cultivated a state-leading core of manufacturing employers with high-wage jobs, like Embraer, who are helping us weather the COVID-19 downturn.”

“In 2008, Embraer selected the Space Coast as the U.S. home of Embraer Executive Jets for several reasons, including the highly-skilled local workforce. Since then, we have been able to expand our presence here, thanks to the support of local workforce development initiatives, such as the EGHS Aviation Assembly and Fabrication Program. We are delighted to have four recent graduates join the Embraer family to assemble the most disruptive and technologically advanced aircraft in the business aviation industry,” said Kirsten Patchett, Vice President of Human Resources for Embraer North America.

“During my last summer in the EGHS Aviation Assembly and Fabrication Program, I completed an internship at Embraer, where I was excited to apply, first-hand, what I was learning in school,” said Kiaralys Alva, Interiors Technician at Embraer. “Upon graduation, thanks to the program, I already had a full-time position lined up at Embraer. I now get to do what I love, with the confidence that comes from the training and mentoring of world-class aviation professionals.”

“By being responsive to industry in our own backyard, we can equip Brevard County students with in-demand skills to not only get them jobs, but careers, “said Matt Susin, EDC executive committee member and vice chairman of the School Board of Brevard County School Districts. “Congratulations to these new EGHS graduates and Embraer for recognizing that it is possible to earn a paycheck and learn a profession without going into student loan debt.”

In 2008, following an extensive, nationwide search, Embraer, the third-largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, selected Melbourne as the site for its North American executive jet manufacturing and sales facility. It has expanded and added new products to its line at the Melbourne facility and added another location in Titusville. The company currently has over 800 employees in Brevard County and is hiring. To explore career options with Embraer, go to https://embraer.com/global/en/join-us.

# # #

About the Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast
The Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast (EDC) is dedicated to attracting new business and investment and expanding existing industry throughout the Space Coast, influencing change on government laws and regulations affecting economic development, promoting the Space Coast to encourage new investment, supporting efforts of Space Coast military installations, and relaying new programs and procedures to assist manufacturing and high-tech companies. The EDC is a private, not-for-profit coalition whose stakeholders are business leaders committed to the economic growth and stability of Florida’s Space Coast. Visit www.SpaceCoastEDC.org.