SACAA holds aviation career expo in Mpumalanga
The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has held an aviation career expo for learners across the country’s six provinces, one being at the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, in Mpumalanga. This forms part of October transport month initiative to provide a platform to expose learners from previously disadvantaged backgrounds to air transport and job opportunities available in the sector.
The learners listened with keen interest to the different speakers, who made presentations about different career opportunities available in the aviation sector.
The opportunities range from pilots to climatologist and air traffic controllers.
Learners came from different high schools from Mbombela and surrounding villages. 22-year-old Emile Classens — who flies one of the aircrafts — encouraged the learners to choose a career in the air transport industry.
“If you keep your eyes on the passion throughout your whole journey you will enjoy the path a lot. It is one of the most interesting industries in the country to be in at the moment and there is a lot of opportunities at the moment for pilots in the aviation industry,” explains Classens.
As many learners in rural communities are still not aware of the careers in the aviation industry — Managing Director of the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport says this kind of initiative brings them closer to the communities and expose them to the sector.
Ponting Grand, who is the Managing Director of the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport, says the narrative should change because the aviation industry is for everyone interested in making a career out of it.
“It is critical in our sector that qualifications are met. It is a well regulated industry. So expertise and qualifications are absolutely critical. We will always support communities where possible to get people that are within our community into our space. So where we find those opportunities we will support that and we [are] already involved in a number of initiatives,” explains Grand.
SACAA says they have a responsibility of taking aviation closer to previously disadvantaged communities.
SACAA’s Moses Moshobora says, “Career in aviation is not a pie in the sky, so we have been to every school you may think of [in] this rural communities. Learners that we got through the school verses, now we have mechanics, others are pilots and others are air traffic controllers.”
“So we got every single corner of this country. So that even those that say we don’t have access to this information we are far from the airports, we have been in Venda, Giyani, Mpumalanga.”
The aviation education career expo tour will continue until this Wednesday.
Source: eNCA
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