Pontus Stenberg, an 18-year-old from Skellefteå in his final year of the aircraft technician program in Arvidsjaur, plans to switch to police training because he feels the program has not lived up to expectations. Emil Olofsson from Boden is disappointed after the school promised him an internship in aircraft technology last year, but he ended up at a company in Boden that repairs and services construction machinery. The aircraft technician program in Arvidsjaur has grown from 14 to 43 students in just four years.
The school is one of five out of seven aircraft technician programs in the country that report a shortage of internship placements, according to the industry organization TYA's high school barometer for the 2025/2026 aircraft technician program. Amanda Granberg-Högdahl, principal of Sandbackaskolan, stated that the challenge of finding internship placements is not new and has been a fact since the program started in Arvidsjaur. She added that for the aircraft technician program, the explanation is that the availability of internship placements that accept students is limited and affected by the global situation, and it is unfortunate that there are students who regret their high school choice.
Åsa Backman, project leader at the industry organization TYA, emphasized that airlines must accept more students, and schools must prepare them better for internships. After the program, one becomes an aircraft mechanic; to become an aircraft engineer requires further post-secondary education in aircraft technology.