Civil Aviation’s CAE has announced that it is relaunching its Women in Flight scholarship programme to encourage more women to pursue a career as a commercial pilot, at the Farnborough International Airshow 2022 this week.
With only 5% of female pilots worldwide, this programme is geared to show women that they too can reach for the sky. The programme helps recipients dream big as they receive a scholarship to the CAE cadet training programme. As a global partner, easyJet has once again pledged its support for Women in Flight as the first airline to sign on for the 2022 programme. easyJet will provide one European candidate access to their first employment opportunity and CAE will fund pilot training for the successful candidate.
“The Women in Flight programme demonstrates to young women that being a pilot is achievable and a wonderful profession,” stated Nick Leontidis, CAE’s Group President, Civil Aviation. “Six women have already benefitted from the Women in Flight programme since it was inaugurated in 2018. And with easyJet’s continued support, the dreams of aspiring female pilots are one step closer to becoming reality.”
DIVERSITY IN AVIATION
“easyJet has long championed greater diversity across our business and the industry and we will continue to focus on challenging gendered stereotypes. Having doubled the number of female pilots flying with us in recent years, we are proud to have made progress. But we know there is still work to do. That’s why we are delighted to be part of CAE’s Women in Flight Scholarship once again,” added easyJet’s Chief Operating Officer David Morgan. “We’re pleased to see our first Women in Flight recipient, Georgina Thomas-Watson, currently completing her line training with us and look forward to another future easyJet pilot follow in her footsteps in 2022.”
Currently, women make up only 5% of professional pilots and cadets in training worldwide. CAE is committed to the advancement of women in aviation to broaden the civil aviation talent pool. With the current pilot shortage and 260,000 new pilots needed over the next 10 years, the industry must take concrete action to attract more women to aviation.
WOMEN IN FLIGHT
To generate real change, the Women in Flight programme will build a network of ambassadors. This includes Women in Flight recipients to share their stories and experiences with other women at events, within their communities, and on social media. The programme will also create and share content about being a pilot that will allow the community to grow and reach girls who will one day fly aircraft.
CAE’s Women in Flight scholarship programme is a competitive programme that is helping create a movement to encourage young girls and women to dream big and have no limits. Since 2018, six women around the world have benefitted from the programme. Eligible female candidates who meet the requirements of the Destination 225° programme can submit their CAE Women in Flight scholarship application here: cae.com/womeninflight.
United wants half of its pilots to be women and people of colour by 2030. Click here to read more.
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