Future Mechanical Engineering Technicians Visit Orao Bijeljina to Gain First-Hand Industry Experience
Second-year students from the Mihajlo Pupin Technical School in Bijeljina, enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering Technician for Computer-Aided Design (CAD) programme, visited Orao together with their teachers to gain practical insight into their educational curriculum. During the visit, the students toured the company's production facilities and laboratory, allowing them to experience the profession they are preparing for and observe real industrial processes firsthand.
Marko Mrkajić, General Manager of Orao a.d. Bijeljina, stated that the company has an ongoing need to recruit young mechanical engineering technicians and provide them with additional specialized training tailored to specific positions within the company.
"Visits by students from the Mihajlo Pupin Technical School have become a long-standing tradition. They provide an excellent opportunity for students to connect the theoretical knowledge acquired in the classroom with real-world industrial applications. These visits are always mutually beneficial, and I am confident that some of the students visiting us today will have the opportunity to build their careers at Orao in the future," Mrkajić said.
Mladen Stevanović, Mechanical Engineering teacher at the Mihajlo Pupin Technical School, explained that the visit was organized as part of the school's official curriculum and gave students the opportunity to observe virtually every aspect of the profession covered during their education.
"We toured the production facilities and the Laboratory. After every visit, we discuss with our students what they have seen, analyse their observations and draw practical conclusions. At the same time, these visits serve as a strong motivation for further learning, as students can see firsthand what their future profession looks like in practice," Stevanović said, adding that the demand for qualified mechanical engineering technicians in the industrial sector has remained consistently high for many years.
Student Željana Zelenović explained that she chose the Mechanical Engineering Technician for Computer-Aided Design programme because mathematics had always been one of her strongest subjects, as well as on the recommendation of an older friend who had attended the same programme.
"I would like to work as a mechanical engineering technician, although I have not yet decided which specific field I want to pursue. I really enjoyed visiting Orao because I had the opportunity to see how an industrial system operates in practice, and I was especially impressed by the precision involved in many of the manufacturing processes," she said.
Rastko Simić shared that he has been fascinated by machines and robots since childhood and had always known that he would enrol in a technical high school.
"After graduating from high school, I plan to study Robotics or Mechatronics. Seeing the technologies and processes at Orao has been extremely valuable. It is also encouraging to know that, with a technical high school education and good academic performance, we already have excellent employment opportunities," Simić said.
Founded in 1944 in Pančevo, Orao has evolved through every stage of development in its core business of aircraft engine overhaul. Today, the company is a highly organized industrial enterprise equipped with state-of-the-art technology and supported by a highly skilled workforce, specializing in the production and overhaul of turbojet engines of all types.
