Where can I find A&P apprentices to hire in Virginia?
Grease Pilot lists 2 aircraft mechanic apprentice profiles in Virginia across 2 cities. All are actively seeking on-the-job training with an FAA-certificated mechanic or repair station — under 14 CFR 65.77, the supervised hours they log in your shop count toward their A&P certificate, so you can hire and train them without being a Part 147 school. In Virginia, apprentice profiles are most concentrated in Chester and Virginia Beach.
Updated September 4, 2026
A&P Apprentice Profiles in Virginia
- Goal: Airframe & Powerplant (A&P)
- Mech. Experience: Less than 1 year
- Willing to relocate: Yes
- Skills: Other Mechanical
- Goal: Airframe & Powerplant (A&P)
- Willing to relocate: No
Want to train one of these apprentices?
Supervising an A&P Apprentice in Virginia
Your shop can grow its own mechanics. Under 14 CFR 65.77, the supervised hours an apprentice logs under your certificated A&Ps count toward their mechanic certificate — no Part 147 school required. You document the training as it happens; when your apprentice is ready, FAA Form 8610-2 goes to the FSDO below — the local FAA office that verifies their supervised experience and authorizes them to take the mechanic tests.
Richmond Flight Standards District Office
- FAA page: faa.gov FSDO page
- Address: 5707 Huntsman Road, Suite 100, Richmond, VA 23250 (by appointment only)
- Phone: (804) 222-7494
- Email: 7-AEA-RIC-FSDO@faa.gov
Apprentice Pipeline: AMT Schools in Virginia
FAA Part 147 schools are one pipeline for apprentice candidates in Virginia — students and recent graduates often look for shops where they can keep logging experience. Some of the Part 147 aviation maintenance schools in Virginia include:
- Aviation Institute of Maintenance (Norfolk)
- Aviation Institute of Maintenance (Manassas)
- Blue Ridge Community College (Weyers Cave)
- Liberty University (Lynchburg)
You don't have to wait on a school pipeline: every profile on this page is a candidate already seeking on-the-job training your certificated mechanics can supervise under 14 CFR 65.77.
Common Questions
Why hire an A&P apprentice in Virginia?
Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach is the U.S. Navy's East Coast Master Jet Base, home to every Atlantic Fleet F/A-18 Super Hornet strike-fighter squadron. 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.
Are there Part 147 schools in Virginia to recruit from?
Yes — four: Aviation Institute of Maintenance (Norfolk and Manassas), Liberty University (Lynchburg), and Blue Ridge Community College (Weyers Cave, at Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport — Virginia's only public-college program). 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.
Does Virginia offer apprenticeship tax credits?
Virginia has retired its worker-training tax credit, and from what we've researched there's no active apprenticeship credit today. The current incentive is a grant: the HIRED Apprenticeship Fund reimburses up to $3,500 per apprentice (max $7,000 per employer) in periodic application rounds, available to sponsors of Registered Apprenticeship Programs — informal 14 CFR 65.77 OJT doesn't qualify. Confirm the current round and eligibility with Virginia Works, the state's workforce agency.
How do I track and manage an A&P apprentice's hours for OJT?
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.
Cities in Virginia
About hiring A&P apprentices
In Virginia, the state employs about 2,260 aircraft mechanics and service technicians, earning a median wage of about $82,200/year (BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics, May 2025). Entry-level pay starts near $58,150/year and experienced mechanics earn up to about $125,170/year. A&P (Airframe & Powerplant) mechanics are certificated by the FAA under 14 CFR Part 65, and documented on-the-job experience under your certificated mechanics is a recognized route to certification eligibility — see the FAA experience requirements. Employers can also formalize training through the U.S. Department of Labor's Registered Apprenticeship program, and the BLS profile for Aircraft Mechanics (49-3011) covers the hiring market.
Forty-one percent of U.S. certificated mechanics are already over 60, and more than 45,000 will reach retirement age within the next ten years — the average FAA-certificated mechanic is 54, twelve years older than the average American worker (ATEC & Oliver Wyman, 2025 Pipeline Report, analysis of FAA airmen certification data). Training an apprentice is how a shop replaces that bench before it retires.
Job boards list openings for apprentices to apply to. This directory lists the apprentices themselves — the supply side of the same marketplace where shops nationwide post A&P apprenticeship opportunities.
Want local apprentices to find YOUR shop?