Development of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) Technician Certification Program

The FAA reports that as of 2020, there are over 1.7 million registered drones in the U.S., and the demand for professional drone pilots is expected to grow as industries such as agriculture, construction, film, and real estate increasingly adopt drone technology for tasks like aerial photography, surveying, mapping, and inspections. The goal of this project, at Northwest College (NWC) in Northwest Wyoming, is the development of a Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) certification program that will prepare students to meet workforce needs in the region. The project will infuse best practices in curriculum design, workforce development, and work-based learning, resulting in a short-term, stackable certificate. The critical thinking, communication, creativity, problem-solving, and analytical reasoning skills involved in attaining this certificate are transferable and are valuable assets in many employment settings.

The proposed RPAS technician education certificate will feature a beginning, intermediate, and advanced course with a capstone project providing a paid internship/work-based learning experience. The objectives of this project include: (1) Increasing knowledge and awareness of RPAS for the internal and external NWC community; (2) Cultivating new and nurturing existing industry partnerships; (3) Delivering a nine-credit RPAS drone education technician certificate; and (4) Offering professional development to prepare educators to infuse RPAS concepts across various STEM disciplines and related programs at NWC.