Preparing for takeoff

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This article was published 11/04/2023 (1052 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg’s new aviation museum became Catelyne Melliza’s hunting grounds Monday.

The 17-year-old wound around planes at the almost year-old attraction, searching for a pilot, a company that makes rockets and a hero in Manitoba’s aviation history.

Another 69 high school students combed about, playing a bingo scavenger hunt during Discovery Days, the Royal Aviation Museum of Western Canada and Winnipeg School Division’s new initiative connecting youth to the aerospace and aviation industry.

The two-day affair comes after seasons of turmoil in the aviation sector, largely due to labour shortages.

“For a career and job, I’m more interested in (being) an aircraft designer,” said an enthusiastic Melliza.

The Canadian Council for Aviation and Aerospace estimates the industry will need an additional 58,000 workers by 2028.

“There’s so many job openings coming up,” said Jennifer Lavallee, Manitoba Aerospace’s recruitment and training co-ordinator. “We need to fill that wide gap.”

Pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, information technology workers, airport ground crews — all corners of the industry need people, Lavallee said.

Many of the sector’s workers left or were laid off during the pandemic and haven’t come back, she said. That, mixed with retirements, has left gaps.

Melliza has applied to the University of Manitoba’s mechanical engineering program. Companies such as Magellan Aerospace and Boeing interest her.

Boeing plans to hire 10,000 employees globally this year, company spokesman Connor Greenwood said, adding that in Winnipeg, hiring will focus primarily on manufacturing technicians.

Both Boeing and Magellan are set to host activities Tuesday — Magellan has a rocket challenge — and Melliza is preparing to meet company representatives.

“This is a dream come true,” said Terry Slobodian, the Royal Aviation Museum’s CEO.

About four years ago, in an “a-ha moment,” he took a marker and drew a picture of the yet-to-be-opened museum as a bridge between students and the aerospace and aviation industry.

Discovery Days is a fulfilment of the picture, which covers the side of a file box, Slobodian said.

“What we have in common (with Winnipeg School Division) is addressing the skills shortage,” he said. “But even if there wasn’t a skills shortage, (there’s) the opportunity to connect great minds, great students with the industry.”

Many of the students participating in Discovery Days came from inner-city high schools. It was the first visit to the museum for many, he said.

Both Kim Ballantyne, Opaskwayak Cree Nation’s first female pilot, and Luke Penner, a Manitoba flight instructor, are speakers at the event.

“What we’re here for (is) to inspire our students,” said Sylvia Martin, the Winnipeg School Division’s aviation and aerospace programming co-ordinator.

Discovery Days is one of several pilot projects the school division is launching with the museum.

Three classes in Grades 5 and 6 spent an entire week at the museum, with courses such as English and history tweaked to highlight aviation and aerospace.

Some Grades 6-12 students in the division have studied the museum’s Take Flight courses, which focus on science, engineering, technology and mathematics.

“The aerospace industry is integral to Manitoba and the economy,” Martin said. “We want to… use the past to inspire current students (about) the future.”

Manitoba’s aerospace sector generated $1.6 billion in revenues in 2017 and contributed $1.1 billion to the province’s gross domestic product in 2018.

Elmwood High School student Jaztin Dizon made a hand-held plane from pieces of balsa wood Monday.

“It’s either aerospace or (automotive),” the Grade 11 student said of his future plans.

He lined up with peers during a University of Manitoba aero team workshop, throwing his plane to see how far it would travel.

Across the hall, Matthew Johnson guided students as they navigated a drone through yellow caution tape.

“Almost every industry that does anything outdoors is starting to use drones,” noted Johnson, Volatus Aerospace’s vice-president, education and digital agriculture.

He expects the industry will grow, meaning more jobs will need filling.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com