A new mentoring program is giving women an exclusive boarding pass to help their careers in the aviation industry take flight.
Western Sydney Women launched the program at Penrith Panthers on Monday.
Founding Director Amanda Rose told the Weekender that with the planned western Sydney airport there was a need for the program.
“The Federal Government wanted to get women interested in aviation and there are those who are keen, but they don’t know where to start,” she said.
“So I proposed we do mentoring with experts in the industry so women can make connections and form pathways to enter into that world.”
The three-month mentoring program is the first of its kind in western Sydney and is very interactive.
“We will run workshops to help mentees with confidence, career planning and hold airport experience days to familiarise them,” Ms Rose said.
“We team up with industry partners to really assist them to be comfortable in all areas, so there is a whole cohort of women ready to say they want a job at the airport.”
With only three per cent of pilots in Australia being female, Ms Rose hopes to change the male-dominated industry.
“There are a lot of ambitious women and everyone has got a calling and a passion and should be given the avenues to pursue that, which is what we are doing,” she said.
Ms Rose said the launch was to help spread the word about the program.
See www.westernsydneywomen.com.au for more information.
A graduate of Western Sydney University, Emily covers Local, State and Federal politics for the Weekender, as well as crime and general news.
