Definition
An FAA-sponsored recognition program that encourages aviation maintenance technicians and their employers to pursue ongoing training beyond the minimum required for certification. Participants who complete a specified number of hours of approved training within a calendar year earn awards at bronze, silver, gold, or other tiered levels, recognizing both individuals and the employers who support their continued learning.
Plain English
An FAA program that gives awards to aircraft maintenance technicians who keep learning and training each year, even after they have their license. It also recognizes the companies that support that ongoing training.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA discussions of continuing education, especially for aviation instructors, mechanics, and maintenance organizations that want to keep skills and knowledge current.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots rely on the work of maintenance technicians for safety. Programs that reward ongoing AMT training help keep the people working on aircraft current with new technology, procedures, and safety practices.
Intuition Check
Do not read “awards” as meaning a contest or trophy for being the best mechanic. Here it means FAA recognition for completing specified maintenance training.
Example Sentence 1
The shop's lead mechanic earned a gold-level award through the Aviation Maintenance Awards Program after completing more than fifty hours of approved training that year.
Example Sentence 2
Instructors use examples from the Aviation Maintenance Awards Program to show students the value of lifelong learning in the maintenance field.