Students take flight at drone training center

School fosters professional skills needed to grow low-altitude economy

With the industry scale of China's low-altitude economy expected to reach over $275 billion by 2030, schools and training centers are being established across the country to meet the professional skills needed.

In Guangzhou, Guangdong province, drones delivering packages to skyscrapers and urban villages, conducting aerial city tours and inspecting road conditions have become a common sight.

The Guangzhou city government last year released a plan aiming for its low-altitude economy to reach a value of 150 billion yuan ($20.66 billion) by 2027.

Wen Chaoxiang, director of Huangpu Flight Academy, a school that offers drone training in Guangzhou, believes that both the low-altitude economy and his school have great development prospects.

"The school is attracting more and more students with different professional backgrounds and life goals from around the country," he said. "The current drone craze is providing growing opportunities for people, particularly young people wanting to develop their careers."

Located on Changzhou Island at the mouth of the Pearl River, the school has become well-known in the industry and has attracted students from the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing to come to conduct research, Wen said.

In addition to the parcel and food delivery industries, drone operators can also provide services for maritime, fire protection, law enforcement, and government departments and agencies. They also conduct drone evaluation, work for agricultural enterprises such as orchards and gardens, and carry out emergency responses, said Wen.

"Many students can earn more than 10,000 yuan a month in Guangzhou by operating drones," he said.

As for some media reports that drone operators can earn as much as 30,000 yuan a month, Wen clarified that such high salaries are only for operators with special professional backgrounds such as surveying and remote sensing.

"With more companies entering the low-altitude industry, the demand for drone operators will continue to surge. Drone operating certification is undoubtedly the key to entering the industry," he said.

Learning how to operate drones takes a long time, Wen said, adding that it demands a lot of training in order for students to overcome numerous difficulties.

"Students first learn with small drones at the school, as large drones pose a certain level of danger when people operate them," he said.

A student needs to receive more than one month of training to pass the exams and be granted a certificate for operating drones, Wen said. With free accommodation provided for students from outside the city, the school charges tuition fees of around 10,000 yuan for each monthlong course.

Ouyang Boyi, a student at Huangpu Flight Academy from Pingxiang, Jiangxi province, said he is optimistic about the low-altitude industry's prospects. "After graduation, I want to set up a company to provide cleaning services for high-rise buildings in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and I will use drones to solve transportation problems for mountaineering companies," he said.

Li Wei, another student from Hunan province, said drones can be used in many fields such as medical delivery and short distance transportation, and play a role in saving manpower.

Li said that the school provides a good learning atmosphere where students with similar interests can study together and share the fun of learning and operating drones.

Since the school began enrolling students in July, it has already registered more than 100 students. However, the school needs to expand to meet growing market demand, and Wen said he hopes to enroll more than 2,000 students this year.

One student at the school, who is also a mother of two children, said she looks forward to becoming a professional drone operator when her kids have grown up.

"Drones are a good starting point," she said, adding that she chose drones and the low-altitude economy because they are closely related to current trends.

Li Qiaoshun contributed to this story.

zhengcaixiong@chinadaily.com.cn