Training of approved persons in the installation, maintenance and operation, as the case may be, of technical equipment, the use of which is calculated or likely to increase the margin of operational safety of civil aircrafts.

Training on equipments and necessary facilities for technical research or normal use.

The idea of a center for aviation training in Nigeria was first mooted at an International Forum, the 12^th International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Assembly, held in San Diego, California, USA, in 1959. The Federal Government of Nigeria then formally requested the United Nations Development Programme to appoint an expert to assess the actual requirements for the setting up of a Civil Aviation Training Center in Nigeria.The report of the project was approved in 1963, and a bill establishing a Center for Civil Aviation Training at Zaria, Nigeria, was passed by the Federal Legislature on 29^th September, 1964, and signed into law on October 23, 1964.

The Center was established as a joint programme between the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). This joint programme of assistance from the UNDP and ICAO came to an end on 31^st December, 1974 and  the Federal Government of Nigeria assumed full responsibility for the continued management and operation of the College.

In 1977, the Board of Governors of the College recommended to the Federal Government a change of name from NIGERIAN CIVIL AVIATION TRAINING CENTER (NCATC) to NIGERIAN COLLEGE OF AVIATION TECHNOLOGY (NCAT), in anticipation of expansion of training and related activities. Official approval did not come until 1986, when the Government issued a White Paper on the “Report of the Fact-Finding Panel into the Activities of the Civil Aviation Department in the Federal Ministry of Aviation”. The change of name was reflected in Decree No. 41 of 1990.

Zaria is characterized by a tropical, continental climate with an extensive dry season (October – May). During this period, a cool is usually experienced due to the North-Easterly winds (the Harmattan) which controls the tropical continental air mass coming in from the Sahara. This weather prevails over most parts of the country. Temperatures get as low as 10^oC at night and a high of 40^oC is often recorded in afternoons. In March and April, hot but dry weather is encountered, trailed by a sweeping-in of the tropical maritime air mass from the Atlantic Ocean which displaces the North-Easterly winds. Temperature recorded during this period ranges between 38^oC – 42^oC. The moisture laden South-Westerly monsoon winds then take over, bringing in heavy rainfall between May – September/October.