On 2 July, the Union of Metallurgy Industries and Trades (UIMM) Indre held its ceremony for the Joint Metallurgy Qualification Certificate (CQPM) at Aircraft Academy, the aeronautical training centre of the Vallair group, based in the Châteauroux-Déols airport zone.
That same day, at the Annual General Meeting of the Indre metallurgy chamber, UIMM Indre and Aeronautical City President, Pierrick James, invited Grégoire Lebigot, President of the Vallair group and a member since 2025, to join the UIMM Indre board of directors in order to strengthen the Training, Skills & Employment project for industry under the Berry-Indre 2030 initiative.
Aircraft Academy, a training provider of international standing, rooted in the Indre
Aircraft Academy, developed by the Vallair group, is an aeronautical training centre built to meet the growing demand for qualified aircraft maintenance technicians.
It is one of the only two training organisations in Europe, alongside Lufthansa, to operate its own dedicated training aircraft, an Airbus A321. This gives the Academy a decisive advantage in meeting the level of standards required by aircraft maintenance.
The aircraft enables the training centre to deliver structured on-the-job training (SOJT) across the Airbus A320 family, a capability that will soon extend to the A330neo. This follows Vallair Industry’s recent certification for the maintenance of the A330neo at its Châteauroux site.
Training aircraft mechanics: a global challenge, a local response
The need for aircraft maintenance skills is vast and worldwide. The industry is currently short of 300,000 aircraft mechanics, and 700,000 technicians will need to be trained over the next decade.
To help close that gap, Aircraft Academy has designed a new programme launching in September 2026: a Bachelor-level course in Certified Aircraft Maintenance, an intensive full-time programme spanning three and a half years.
The programme positions Châteauroux as an international training hub with local benefits, since much of the practical training will take place at the Châteauroux site, bringing activity, jobs and visibility to the region.
“Training aircraft maintenance technicians is a global challenge, and meeting that demand is exactly why Aircraft Academy designs and delivers its programmes. I am very pleased to join the UIMM Indre board of directors, where I hope to help shape and strengthen the region’s training offer in line with the needs of local businesses,” says Grégoire Lebigot, President of the Vallair group.
About Vallair Industry
Vallair Industry, the industrial branch of Vallair Group, is an aircraft maintenance company specialising in the storage, maintenance (MRO), conversion and dismantling of aircraft and engines.
A contributor to France’s reindustrialisation, the company draws on an international client base that contributes positively to the national trade balance.
All activities of Vallair Industry are based in France at the Châteauroux and Montpellier sites.
Its facilities, among the most high-performing in Europe, include 15,000 m² of maintenance hangars for wide-body and medium-haul aircraft, 10,000 m² of aircraft dismantling hangars, and more than 40 aircraft parking spaces.
Vallair is a founding member of AFRA (the Aircraft Fleet Recycling Association) and a member of GIFAS, Aerospace Valley and Aérocentre.
The group has been established in Châteauroux for more than 20 years, generating substantial economic benefits for the region. Vallair Industry employs 120 people locally and has injected €42 million into the local economy since 2022, when its new hangar opened. In the space of a year, activity at the Châteauroux site rose from 75,000 to 200,000 working hours.
About UIMM Indre
Founded in 1936 by the metallurgy companies of the Indre, UIMM Indre — the Union of Metallurgy Industries and Trades of the Indre — exists to defend and represent businesses in the region’s metallurgy sector.
To read the Press Release in French, click here.
