iscover
Virgin Australia is expanding its student-focused Future Aviators Program to include more girls from Queensland’s regional communities.
The program, now in its second year, is now offering female high school students in Townsville, Mackay, and Rockhampton the opportunity to tour Virgin’s facilities to encourage future careers in the aviation industry, specifically within engineering and flight operations.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
“We want to open doors earlier and ensure students are exposed to the breadth of opportunities available across the aviation industry,” said Lisa Burquest, Virgin Australia’s Chief People Officer.
“Flying students in from Townsville, Mackay and Rockhampton is a way for us to expand the impact of this program, and we see this as the foundation to continue broadening its reach to more regional communities in the years ahead – particularly where careers in aviation may not always feel accessible.”
Nearly sixty girls from schools across the region will have the exclusive opportunity to tour Virgin’s engineering and maintenance hanger, cabin crew training facilities, flight simulators, and operations centre.
“As an airline proudly headquartered in Queensland, we recognise the important role we play in contributing to the strength of the aviation industry in our home state,” said Burquest.
“Programs like Future Aviators reflect the value we place on creating meaningful opportunities for Queensland students and investing in the next generation of local talent.”
Exclusively, program participants will have the opportunity to board Virgin’s newest Boeing 737 MAX-8 which arrived late last week, and is one of twelve to be delivered this year.
Project manager of the Aerospace Gateway to Industry Schools Program, Natalie Allen, says that programs like these provide girls with a meaningful interest in fields that they may not have had access to or interest in previously.
“Experiences like these don’t just spark curiosity, but also build confidence, and help young women see the wide range of pathways available to them in the aviation and aerospace sector,” she said.
The Future Aviator’s Program is annually aligned with International Women’s Day to encourage girls to pursue careers within the aviation industry.
Data released this month from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) showed Virgin has an average gender pay gap of 44.8 per cent and a median gap of 35.34 per cent, slightly narrower than last year.
While it is illegal to pay women less than men for the same work, the WGEA says that the pay gap is largely driven by men being more prevalent in higher-paying roles, which in aviation would include pilots and engineers, and women in lower-paid roles like cabin crew and customer service.
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Australian Aviation a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Australian Aviation as a preferred news source.
