The Prince Edward Flying Club is hosting a career fair encouraging young people to join the aviation industry.
The Find Your Wings Career Fair is part of Prince Edward Flying Club’s 70th anniversary celebrations.
Young people of all ages will be able to speak with experts in the field as well as look at static displays of different aircraft.
Co-Lead of Find Your Wings Career Fair for Young Women, Lola Reid Allin, says women in particular are vastly underrepresented in the industry.
“Even though women have been flying just as long as men, the first female was licensed in 1909, six years after the Wright Flyer flew for the first time, still only six per cent of commercial pilots are female and that’s a pretty low number,” Reid Allin tells Quinte News.
She says one of the main reasons for a lack of representation in the industry is due to an idea that some women don’t consider themselves capable and underestimate their skills as well as trying to navigate through a male-dominated industry.
Reid Allin says that the idea to start the career fair in Prince Edward County was based on similar fairs in Ontario and across the country.
“There’s so many events that take place in Toronto, London, and not too much is happening in this area,” Reid Allin said.
“I thought it would be really cool to have something at the Picton Airport and again specifically to generate interest in aviation and in the club itself.”
She says the event is not limited to pilots but to other roles within the aviation industry.
The career fair is free for everyone to attend and takes place at Base 31 in Picton on Saturday.
The event runs from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
More information about speakers and others from the field who will be in attendance can be found at the Prince Edward Flying Club’s website.
