The Bay Economic Development Alliance (BayEDA) and Gulf Coast State College (GCSC) announced today, Europe based Butterfly Training, will be establishing their U.S. headquarters in Bay County, Florida. Butterfly Training was founded in Paris, France and now has seven locations throughout Europe. Butterfly Training’s entrance into Bay County will be their first location outside of Europe and their eighth worldwide. With the opening of their U.S. operation the company will initially employ three employees with plans to add 10 positions in the next three years. Butterfly Training designs and produces e-learning solutions for airport security, safety, dangerous goods, airlines, and aviation manufacturing companies. Butterfly Training has over 2,000 customers and develops training in over 10 languages. The company also completes training in over 15 countries, trains more than 50,000 people per year, and has developed over 100 products for its wide array of aviation customers. A few notable customers include AIRBUS, Boeing, American Airlines, FedEx, Air France, and many others.
The location of Butterfly Training in Bay County will establish a partnership between BayEDA, GCSC, and the company. Through this partnership Butterfly Training will work closely with academic programs at GCSC for the creation and production of new training products and solutions for companies worldwide. Butterfly Training has aviation authority certifications through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Aviation Suppliers Association (ASA), IATA, European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and others. Butterfly training is highly respected in the European aviation sector due to their creation of aviation e-learning services, digital studio capabilities, mobile learning, learning management software, and other products/ services. The entrance into the U.S. market will provide Butterfly Training the proximity necessary to develop clients throughout the North American aviation sector.
According to Olivier David, Founder and CEO of Butterfly Training, “Entry into the U.S. Aviation market is a necessary growth step for our company. Bay County has proven to be an ideal location for our U.S. Headquarters. From the leadership of BayEDA, GCSC, and the community we know we are well suited for success. GCSC has tremendous assets in the Advanced Technology Center. The college is also providing substantial training to students in the Digital Media and Computer Sciences programs. We look forward to working closely with the instructors and students in the development of new products for leading aviation companies.”
Coined Project Palos, this project originated from an aviation recruitment mission to Europe in 2017 by BayEDA. Butterfly Training will develop and produce new aviation training products for U.S. clients in Bay County. The company will also utilize students at GCSC through the joint partnership agreement in the development of meaningful projects to provide GCSC students hands-on experience in product development for worldwide clients.
Dr. John R. Holdnak, President, Gulf Coast State College, sees this partnership as a win-win for Butterfly Training and the students at GCSC. Dr. Holdnak stated, “Our mission at Gulf Coast State College is to prepare our students for productive careers and train them to successfully enter into the workforce. Through this partnership between Butterfly Training and GCSC our students will be able to take advantage of practical, hands-on experiences in the very skills and abilities expected from them upon graduation. Students and faculty in our Digital Media degree programs will now have the opportunity to work alongside Butterfly Training professionals in the actual creation of products utilized by international aviation companies.
Jorge Gonzalez, Chairman of the Bay Economic Development Alliance and President and Chief Executive Officer of The St. Joe Company stated, “We are pleased to welcome Butterfly Training into Bay County. This project will further enhance Bay County’s international exposure to aviation companies located throughout the world. With Bay County and the entire region’s recent economic development successes our communities are continuing to see substantial growth and progress in our regional economy.”
