How to Inspire the Next Generation into Aviation Careers

By Kim Lewington MBE

I started my aviation career at the age of 16. It was a work experience opportunity to spend 6 months in Air Traffic Control at Gloucestershire Airport. I was offered a permanent job after a few months as an Air Traffic Control Assistant.

40 years later and I still love aviation! I qualified as a Tower and Approach Controller and became the first female air traffic controller at Gloucestershire Airport. It wasn’t without its challenges being female in a male dominated industry, but I had an exciting career and after leaving ATC, worked in airport management before spending the last 10 years of my career inspiring the next  generation with the charity, fly2help.

Fly2help run a career information programme called Aim High.

It was originally a week long scheme where students aged 14 to18 years were selected by an application and interview process. 

The week long scheme was based at an airport including Gloucestershire, Cotswold, London Biggin Hill, Oxford and Luton Airports.

The 10 students would be based at the airport for the week and learn about airport operations, visit ATC, the airport fire station, engineering hangars, ATC colleges, FBO facilities, and flight training organisations. Where funding was available, some of the schemes included a trial flying lesson. Trips away from the base airport included visits to Airbus and Rolls-Royce at Filton, RAF Brize Norton, TUI operations at Luton, the Army Air Corps at Middle Wallop and HM Coastguard at St. Athan.

This scheme worked well for years with around a 30%+ success rate of students going on to study aviation at university, as apprentices or professionally to achieve their dream career.

The list includes:

Airline pilots

Air Ambulance helicopter pilot

Aircraft engineers

Flying instructor

Air Traffic Control officer and assistant

Operations staff

FBO staff

RAF Weapons Systems Operator

AAC Apache helicopter pilot

I believe this scheme worked so well due to the students gaining an excellent, and sometimes ‘hands on’, insight behind the scenes, and having the opportunity to and talk to people currently working in the industry. If you CAN see it you CAN be it. 

At fly2help we keep in touch with previous students to help them gain work experience places, inform them about scholarships and job opportunities.

During the Covid 19 Pandemic, we continued our scheme online, but, although we were able to increase our numbers for the course, the online schemes didn’t have the same impact.

With the pandemic lasting longer than we all thought and with fly2help successful in gaining funding from the Department for Transport’s Reach for the Skies initiative, it was time to think about how we could take things forward. Our schemes had mainly male applicants with only 20% female. Some had family within the industry and were sometimes already well informed about careers. 

With further research, we found the schools lacked information to give to students regarding aviation and aerospace careers, so we collaborated with local schools, working with their careers teachers and attended several schools careers events.

Talking to secondary school students, we realised the majority had already an idea of future careers, often influenced by the occupations of family members or jobs that traditionally seemed suitable for people of their gender or background. Most students had already started GCSE or A-level courses with plans to go to university. 

Again, further research convinced us that the seeds needed to be sown at younger age. Fly2help then developed their Travelling Airport. This scalable, pop-up display system enabled the team to visit primary schools and community groups all over the country. This fully interactive initiative can be set up for children to role play a range of airport and aviation jobs and only requires set up space. It ‘flat packs’ for simple storage and can be transported in the boot of a standard car.

Children can take part in being check in staff, baggage handlers, aircraft marshallers, security personnel, air traffic controllers, engineers, pilots and cabin crew. It opens the Our minds to all the variety of jobs available within the aviation industry. 

Our volunteers are the role models for the activities, aimed predominantly at primary aged children, who are generally a very enthusiastic age group. We have airline pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers and many others that can make the session not only informative and educational but fun too! Hands on, tactile activities in an eye-catching environment, not normally accessible to the general public, offers so much more than the Internet!

Security requirements often mean that airports and aircraft are ‘off limits’ and the breadth of our industry isn’t fully understood by the general population and careers specialists. Whilst this helps maintain its mystique and, therefore, attraction to some, it closes the door to many, many more by being inaccessible. Budget constraints and curriculum time often preclude school trips, but taking the ‘airport’ to the children opens that door in a simple, low-cost way.

It is also vital that we inform schools careers teams about the industry, equipping them with the knowledge about aviation careers and highlighting how the roles are available for all genders and backgrounds. We need to spread the word about how fantastic our industry is and taking it to youngsters in their normal environment can result in those inspirational, ‘lightbulb’ moments.