Hire A&P Apprentices in Caledonia, Mississippi

Columbus, Mississippi, in the Golden Triangle region, is home to Airbus Helicopters' U.S. final-assembly line, which has delivered more than 1,800 helicopters since 2003 and is where the U.S. Army's UH-72 Lakota is built. Demand for certificated mechanics is strong — training an apprentice under 14 CFR 65.77 lets your shop grow its own A&Ps instead of competing for them.

Yes — three: Hinds Community College (Raymond, at John Bell Williams Airport), Northwest Mississippi Community College (Olive Branch, in the Memphis metro), and Pearl River Community College (Kiln, on the Gulf Coast — program launched 2024). School students and graduates are one recruiting pipeline — but under 14 CFR 65.77 your hires don't need school at all; supervised experience in your shop alone qualifies them to test.

From what we've researched, Mississippi has no apprenticeship-specific credit — but its Skills Training Tax Credit is worth a look: 50% of qualified training expenses, up to $2,500 per Mississippi employee per year, when the training is offered or approved by your district's community college — see the Mississippi DOR's tax incentives guide. Notably, it isn't tied to a Registered Apprenticeship — structured OJT could qualify if your community college approves it. The Mississippi Apprenticeship Program (MDES) also offers grant funding for registered programs. Confirm with your district community college and MDES.

Check the relocation line on their profile — apprentices state whether they're willing to relocate, and many will move for the right training opportunity. To maximize the quality of apprentice recruits, fill out your supervisor listing inside your account — once published, it shows to apprentices across the Grease Pilot network.

Keep a dated, task-level log, signed as the work happens. The FAA's own guidance for the experience review lists an “AMT log signed by your supervising mechanic” and a statement from your employer among the documentary evidence an inspector accepts — and the more evidence, the better. Note that time spent in training doesn't count; practical experience means actually performing maintenance. Grease Pilot's OJT tracking does this for you: it logs each task by FAA ACS subject, captures your digital supervisor sign-offs, and exports an FAA-ready PDF package when your apprentice is ready to apply. Grease Pilot also generates signed employer verification letters — the employer statement the FAA lists as accepted evidence — to back up the log.