Senegal has graduated its first civilian aeronautical maintenance technicians trained by the Air Force School to boost the country’s aviation industry, enhance the defense sector and improve self-sufficiency.
The first 29 aeronautical maintenance technicians received diplomas in January 2025 during a ceremony in Thiès. The graduation is the result of what is being called a historic public-private partnership designed to increase Senegal’s domestic capacity to repair aircraft and build the planes of tomorrow.
“It is the realization of a vision, that of preparing our youth for the challenges of the aeronautical sector and of permanently registering Senegal on the world map of aviation,” Col. Ousmane Ngom, commander of the Thiès School Base, said during the graduation ceremony.
The school partnered with Air Senegal and Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar. The technicians, along with 11 pilots in the graduating class, will work for Air Senegal.
“This project is an example of cooperation that fits perfectly in the concept of Armée-Nation that is so dear to our country,” said Gen. Birame Diop, chief of defense staff of the Senegalese Armed Forces.
Diop said the country aims to become a major global air hub. “By combining the expertise, materiel and finances of the Air Force and its civilian partners, Senegal boosts its capacity to train the youth to be qualified and able to respond to strategic needs like aerospace,” he said.