LANSERIA - Lanseria Airport welcomed 600 pupils for a special Mandela Day career experience to inspire the next generation of aviation professionals.
It was an introduction to careers that keep the industry soaring.
Seasoned professionals guided the learners through interactive exhibitions, career talks, and behind-the-scenes experiences.
Lanseria Airport Legal Executive, Advocate Celiwe Mhlungu, said they are investing in tomorrow’s leaders.
“We are in a specialized field. Aviation is not something that people come across every day and we thought, let's open up the industry to young people.
“Let's show them the opportunities that are available to them and you know the sky is the limit. We have so many bursaries that are available from our regulator and some of our other stakeholders within this career fair. So we thought, let's show people the different types of careers they could actually go into aviation,” Mhlungu said.
Goitse Diale of Absolute Aviation said: “For us to be here is a reinforcement of my story. As a young boy from the North West, I used to stand on the fence of a particular airport in the North West and I used to watch planes go up and down. I had big dreams as well to travel the world and to power these big aircraft, and today I am so proud that I have achieved that and more. I am also paying it forward for the young people who are here today."
Beyond career awareness, the day was a reminder of Nelson Mandela’s legacy as a freedom fighter.
"What you may know is that Madiba visited Sweden as the first country outside of South Africa in 1990, and we have this close relationship, and from our perspective is to continue the legacy that Madiba was promoting, which is close to education, and our purpose here is to inspire young people to take up a career in science and technology, engineering and maths,” said Nivan Moodley of SAAB.