USI and Accelerate Montana Forge Partnership to Advance Workforce Development and Drone Safety Standards in Montana

Adopting aviation best practices, education, and training from USI gives Accelerate MT
the opportunity to equip individuals and organizations throughout the state of Montana
with industry-recognized safety certifications for UAS workforce readiness.

July 9, 2024 – Panama City, FL — Accelerate MT has been assembling teams to support their mission of economic and career development across the state of Montana. Their Rapid Training Program is designed to help individuals get the skills they need to build jobs or careers in Montana's fastest-growing and largest industry sectors of construction, manufacturing, technology, healthcare, film and media – all of which, are actively integrating drone technology for improved efficiencies. These rapid training courses are offered across the state and are designed to be fast, flexible, affordable, and precisely what workers and companies need. 

To further propel their mission, Accelerate MT has selected USI and its drone safety standards, training, and industry-recognized certification programs, as a workforce development partner. Derived from aviation best practices, USI’s professional training programs result in a standardized approach to safe, effective, and efficient operations in both Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone operations. These professional training programs will be offered as part of the Rapid Training Program as soon as this month.

“Partnering with agencies such as USI is a key component of Accelerate Montana and is essential in attaining our goal of delivering quality training programs in high demand careers,” stated Shane Kravik, Accelerate MT Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator. “Helping Montana employers and individuals work towards rewarding careers and generate economic prosperity for their families and communities is our goal; offering this leading UAS training program will help develop a fiercely competitive and uniquely Montanan economic opportunity.” 

“Through this partnership with Accelerate MT and USI, we can ensure that there is standardized professional UAS training and accreditation at the high school and college level in MT.” Jeremy Crowley, the Director of the University of Montana (UM) Autonomous Aerial Systems Office (AASO) explains. “A particular difficulty in MT is the low population density, and this hybrid method of training will help extend the knowledge and experience that is already in the large cities to the rural and tribal areas of the state. This will help employers and innovators hire the employees they already need, help create new jobs, and expand the workforce capacity and sustainability in Montana.”

USI Co-Founder and CEO, Josh Olds added, “USI is proud to empower the safe adoption of drone technology throughout the state of Montana as Accelerate MT implements our education, training, and safety standardized certifications into their Rapid Training Program. It will be very exciting to see how this partnership creates value to the numerous industry career clusters actively growing their use of drone technology throughout Montana.” 

Multiple Accelerate MT pilots have completed the Primary Certification pathway training with USI at the Autonomous Aerial Systems Office (AASO) at University of Montana in Missoula, MT.


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About Accelerate MT

Accelerate MT offers a broad range of programs to benefit businesses and individuals alike - regardless of location in Montana. To meet the mission of accelerating economic potential, Accelerate MT works to assemble teams who can support, guide, and consult individuals and businesses to find success in their careers.
 
Through the broad range of programs offered, Accelerate MT strives to help build business capacity and support Montana's economic development. Members of the team are experts at guiding entrepreneurs through the start-up of a business: from launch phase to its early stages as a young company. Their network of peers allows them to help regardless of where those entrepreneurs live in the state. 

Accelerate MT has a range of programs designed to support Montana's small businesses in addition to programs that can enable businesses small or large to access new markets overseas or ensure that their company is considered for state or federal contracting. They have team members that can connect businesses to the basic advice, tools, and skills that every business needs to function.  

The courses that are part of the Rapid Training Program are designed to help individuals get the skills they need to build jobs or careers in Montana's fastest growing and largest industry sectors of construction, manufacturing, technology, healthcare, film, and media. These courses are designed to help build the skills that industries most say they need. Courses are offered across the state through partners and are designed to be fast, flexible, affordable, and precisely what workers and companies need.

Learn more at www.AccelerateMT.com.

Accelerate MT Contact: Shane Kravik, Shane.Kravik@MSO.UMT.edu


About AASO 

The University of Montana (UM) Autonomous Aerial Systems Office (AASO) provides advanced UAS research support for UM and federal, state, and local agencies and communities. AASO was one of the earliest groups in Montana to be awarded a series of Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) Certificate of Authorizations (COAs) to conduct advanced operations. These COAs include authorization to conduct UAS operations up to 10,000ft above ground level (AGL), nighttime flights, and daisy-chain operations.  

Learn more at https://www.umt.edu/autonomous-aerial-systems/

AASO contact: Jeremy Crowley, Jeremy.Crowley@umt.edu


About USI
Unmanned Safety Institute (USI) is the industry’s most widely recognized leader in flight safety solutions for individuals, academia and organizations focused on integrating and operating UAS for civil or commercial purposes. USI provides UAS flight safety training and certification to operational standards based on the adoption and modification of time-honored aviation safety practices. 

With more than 300 instructors and over 20,000 USI Certifications awarded around the world, USI works with large commercial enterprises and nearly 500 schools in all 50 states. USI is the global leader in commercial and academic UAS workforce development and certification, delivering the most highly regarded training program of its kind. USI offers Primary, Advanced and Complex training and certification programs that are applicable to VLOS, BVLOS and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) operations.

USI’s training and certification programs are endorsed by major aviation insurance providers and implemented nationwide as a workforce pathway program from secondary or post-secondary to the career field to align skillsets to industry pay scales.

Discover more at www.FlyUSI.org.

USI Contact: Stephanie Holland, Stephanie.Holland@FlyUSI.org 

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