By Executive Director Vanessa Griffiths
When you have tasted flight you will walk the earth with your eyes skyward, for there you have and there you will all to return. – Leonardo Da Vinci
As small girl on long flights to Hawaii to visit my grandparents I would often be entertained by the flight crews and in the cockpit of CP or Canadian flight. They would take me into the cockpit mid flight, and give me my wings. I felt like I was already part of a team what was making this massive piece of machinery fly through the sky. That small seed is still with me, and the excitement of going to the airport has never dulled. And ultimately everyone is part of this experience whether as a guest or an employee. But that seed didn’t get nourished and it took me awhile to figure out that it is what I wanted to do. After spending a couple years in college and trying to figure out what I really wanted to do, I went to India backpacking, and came back on the flight and realized that I should try flying. That seed that was planted many moons ago was still there and that same feeling I had when I was a kid, so why wouldn’t I try it?
Planting that seed early on is a common theme in a lot of conversations I have with people in our industry, and a lot of them still have it as dream. So how do you plant a seed when cockpits are closed and security is high? Well there are lots of people still trying to give kids that first taste of aviation like COPA for kids, who takes kids up annually for flights in small planes, or Girls Fly Too event , now in its second year taking girls and women up in planes and helicopters and seeing women in the roles that are typically dominated by men. But these are small programs when you think of the grand scale of our population. These are all programs that are working and there definitely needs to be more engagement from our Industry if we want to keep attracting new talent.
So say you come out of school and you still don’t know much about aviation – How do we change this? Cockpits aren’t open anymore, but we still need to get kids in and around aircraft and airports. We need it part of the school curriculum so that children can come to the Westjet hangar for a field trip, they get to sit in the simulator, and also see how parts get changed, how a plane is built, how we coordinate and track flights, or how we fuel or de ice, and ATC handles traffic, or how the fire truck hose works. We also need to get children up in the air in actual aircraft (girls fly too). Experience hooks you, it creates that magic or those butterfly’s that I still feel when I approach an airport, or walk onto a plane. I feel it needs to be annual engagement where certain age students can come and see where they could one-day work.
So if you don’t have active community participation from people who really want to help out others what can you do? I am sure you can do it all on your own, but I am a massive fan of community engagement. We are a culture that is meant to be around people and help each other discover our passions. Aviation is a newer trade being explored and exploded in the last 110 years. But community engagement is something I discovered through working with volunteers and in my most recent positions. Attending events and showing your community you care about them and their future and sharing something you love is probably one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.
I am the current co –chair of the youth engagement committee and Executive Director for the BC Aviation Council, and our vision is an aviation and aerospace community that is visible, connected, in thriving. Our goals have me out in the community often on the pulse of what people are saying and I am listening. It has to be consistent and always celebratory. The more people see you and see what you do and how much you love what you do; more people will want to work where you work.
Industry collaborating with educational training is also been a very successful and often under utilized tool to get people into your company. I see incredible opportunity when these larger companies take the time to partner with Aviation or Engineering programs. I’ve seen it with done out of Ontario and more so abroad with International airlines. I’ve also seen Industry support and collaborate with organizations like The Aviation Leadership Foundation mentorship program. These are all ways that really do attract new talent but it needs to be nourished and supported by Industry consistently.
Attracting talent truly comes from planting that seed early on, nourishing it as it grows, and really deeply caring about the future of our industry. Being engaged, and taking the time to mentor, learn, and lead within our community till that beautiful seedling becomes a strong tree. We hope to see you at the Girls Fly too event, or other events in our community!
