Monterey Bay DART has completed its first week-long commercial drone pilot training boot camp, an early milestone in the rollout of the Maturing Regional AgTech and Aerospace Job Readiness Pathways program, known as MsUAS Pathways — a two-year initiative funded by the James Irvine Foundation and implemented in partnership with Hartnell College.

The boot camp was delivered as one of two inaugural sessions of “Introduction to Drone Operations,” offered in partnership with Monterey Adult School. Fifteen participants, ranging in age from 16 to 56, spent the week working through the core knowledge areas covered on the FAA’s Part 107 exam, including airspace classification, weather, regulations, aircraft loading and performance, radio communication procedures, and emergency operations, paired with hands-on flight time.

By the end of the week, 90% of participants passed a practice exam with the same threshold required to pass the FAA’s official knowledge test, a strong early signal for a course still in its first sessions.

The camp also marked a continuation of DART’s partnership with UC Santa Cruz’s CITRIS Initiative for Drone Education and Research (CIDER) through Drones Uplifting the Central Coast (DUCC), a “train-the-trainer” initiative that equips high school and community college educators to bring drone instruction into their own classrooms. Among this cohort were teachers from Seaside High School, who used the week to build the hands-on flight experience they’ll carry back to their students.

The boot camp is one piece of a larger regional effort, which aims to serve 150 participants and help at least 50 earn FAA Part 107 certification over its two-year grant period. Alongside it, DART and its partners are building a standalone drone education track at Hartnell College and Monterey Peninsula College, a dedicated veteran and military-connected pathway, and direct relationships with employers in agriculture, construction, public safety, and advanced air mobility, providing boot camp graduates with a clear next step towards a job in the field.

Completing this first boot camp shows the pathway moving from planning into practice. Participants who finish the course gain an on-ramp toward FAA certification and, ultimately, employment in one of the fastest-growing sectors of the regional economy, from agricultural monitoring in the Salinas Valley to advanced air mobility operations taking shape in Marina and beyond.

DART plans to build on this first cohort with additional sessions in the months ahead. Community members interested in future “Introduction to Drone Operations” offerings, including scholarship opportunities, can learn more and register at mbdart.org.