Lockheed Martin announced a CA$3.5 million donation of a package of training materials to the school’s Aviation Maintenance and Engineering (AME) faculty.

The announcement, which builds on its relationship with the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies, was made at the school’s Saskatoon campus in partnership with the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification.

Lockheed Martin last month donated CA$100,000 to support the AME program and announced at that time the continued collaboration with faculty administration to develop and implement courseware and instructor’s materials for training in more than three-dozen engineering disciplines including systems engineering, quality assurance, logistics and interface engineering management. The advanced modules are similar to those used internally by the corporation and are based on decades of lessons learned in aerospace and systems engineering on major, complex programs.

“We believe this program will enable post-secondary students to enhance their knowledge and skills in the advanced technology area of aircraft engineering and sustainment,” said Tom Digan, president of Lockheed Martin Canada. “Leveraging lessons-learned from decades of work on complex engineering programs, the courseware will build upon the student’s existing curriculum and help ensure that the Canadian aviation industry has the skill force for the future.

“We are honored to have a partnership with Lockheed Martin Canada,” said Randell Morris, President and CEO of the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies. “The responsiveness on the part of this world class defence contractor to the needs of a growing institution such as SIIT is remarkable. We will implement this training package within our Aviation Learning Center, a new training facility site located at the Saskatoon Airport. The center is an expression of a successful public-private partnership with Industrial and Regional Benefits related to military defence procurement at the core. The new facility and these types of training tools provided through Lockheed Martin Canada are the conduit to working more closely with industry and our First Nation communities. I am very grateful to Lockheed Martin for this investment as it showcases how a First Nation post-secondary institution can partner with industry and work together to grow the western economy.”

Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Sensors (MS2) is donating the courseware, valued at more than CA$3.5M, as part of the company’s commitment to the Canadian government to satisfy industrial and regional benefits associated with its role as prime contractor for the mid-life modernization of the combat systems on board the Navy’s Halifax Class frigate. The CA$1.6 billion program was awarded in late 2008 to Lockheed Martin Canada.

In the first 12 months of the contract, Lockheed Martin has provided more than CA$200 million in economic and regional benefits though strategic industrial partnerships and investments in research and development. The government’s Department of Western Economic Diversification has added its support to this initiative.

“This program will create jobs and opportunity for Aboriginal students,” said the Honourable Lynne Yelich. “We are pleased to see partnerships like this that will help build a stronger, more diversified economy.”

Earlier this year, the Saskatchewan government announced a CA$350,000 investment in the AME program including an operating grant and donated aircraft to enhance the post-secondary training opportunities for Saskatchewan students.

“The provincial government is pleased to be part of this exciting initiative that will help meet the strong labour market demand for aviation maintenance engineering,” Advanced Education, Employment and Labour Minister Rob Norris said. “This program allows students to receive this specialized training right here in Saskatchewan and be part of our growing workforce.”

Lockheed Martin Canada has about 500 employees principally located in the Ottawa head office, Montreal and Dartmouth. Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 136,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion US.