Islamabad : Rosheen Saleem Vazeer, a student of the Centre of Aviation, has become the first Pakistani woman to earn European Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) licence.
Born and raised in Karachi, Rosheen joined the Centre of Aviation for three-year EASA Modular Aircraft Maintenance Engineering programme after completing FSc.
She completed three years of practical experience at the centre.
The European AME licence has allowed Rosheen to work in over 180 countries in the world, where EASA standards are enforced or bilaterally accepted, opening new doors of opportunities for her. Engineering and especially Aircraft Engineering is unchartered territory for females owing to difficult and demanding job environment.
The opportunity was made available to Rosheen by Center of Aviation, and many girls like her are studying to secure the licence on its campuses in Islamabad and Karachi.
CoA Managing Director Talha Izhar said the centre firmly believed that the aviation sector had huge potential to positively contribute to the wider economy of Pakistan.
He said globally that license cost around eight million rupees, which the centre was making available to the youths of Pakistan for less than a million rupees.
"We highly encourage girls to undertake this course, and we offer both need and merit-based scholarships to support their studies. Our partner network within Pakistan and abroad allows us to deliver high-quality education in Pakistan and provide a practical experience which is a core part of this programme,” he said.
He said with campuses in Karachi and Islamabad, the CoA was the largest provider of European standard Part 66 examinations in Pakistan.
"We offer state-of-art facilities, tools and effective methods to impart quality technical education and practical training using experienced instructional staff," he said.
He said Center of Aviation Islamabad campus was based at Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad, a top-ranked university in Pakistan for engineering programmes.
Rosheen Saleem Vazeer felt excited at the distinction and thanked the center for providing her with the opportunity for it. "They (center) greatly support female students in this programme, and I am looking forward to starting my professional career in the aviation industry. I would encourage all girls to explore these new fields which offer much better job prospects, within Pakistan and abroad,” she said.