By Stephanie Nguyen-Preciado

The Fullerton Drone Lab is soaring to new heights with the first-ever Hornet Drone Pilot Apprenticeship Program. Fullerton College introduced the new drone piloting apprenticeship program at a kickoff event during National Apprenticeship Week last fall.

Professor Jay Seidel and drone students demonstrate and explore new drone technology at a National Apprenticeship week event.

The U.S. Department of Labor recently registered this apprenticeship as the first in California and the first from a college by federal standards in the United States. The Hornet Drone Lab will develop skilled pilots of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) ready to work with industry partners in various industries such as utilities, public safety, and ecology.

“This program provides a great opportunity to help further develop the workforce of tomorrow,” said Jay Seidel, professor, and director of the Drone Lab. According to recent research, the demand for drone pilots is expected to grow by 51 percent over the next five years.

Once accepted into the program, students complete 11 units at Fullerton College that will earn them their FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) certifications. Then, a partnership with the Friends of Fullerton College Foundation and Hope Builders Career Connections, an Orange County-based social enterprise staffing agency, pairs students with employment partners to complete 600 hours of paid on-the-job training. Southern California Edison, Birds Eye Aerial, C2 Technologies, Flying Lion, and Orange County Vector Control have all signed up to employ student apprentices. The entire program, developed through the California Apprenticeship Initiative, can be completed within a year and move the new journeymen into the workforce.

This program also introduces a new classroom-to-jobsite pipeline. In addition to the $500,000 apprenticeship grant to start the program, Friends received funding from the Orange County Community Foundation, Samueli Foundation, and Edison International to create a social enterprise partnership that self-funds scholarships. Employers pay a finder’s fee that funds both the apprenticeship administration and scholarships for the next class in the program. This will help increase accessibility for students by providing them with a microloan of up to $2,500 to pay for a drone and FAA testing.

“Students can come to campus and go from start to finish without having to pay a dime for the program,” said Zoot Velasco, executive director of the Friends of Fullerton College Foundation. “We see this as a generational change for families.”

Learn more about the drone program at Fullerton College by visiting the Drones website.