Qantas Girls in Aviation Day

Most passengers only ever see one side of an airline. Eli and Shavinta, two young First Nations women who travelled to Sydney with the Gunggandji Aerospace Foundation in September, got to see behind the scenes at Qantas Girls in Aviation Day.

At Qantas headquarters in Mascot, surrounded by women working across aviation and more than 150 other students exploring the industry, both had the opportunity to see what could come next for them.

For Eli, the day was another opportunity to discover more of an industry she already knows she wants to work in, having recently completed work experience created by the Gunggandji Aerospace Foundation with Cairns Airport, Qantas and Jetstar.

For Shavinta, the destination was already very clear. She wanted to become a pilot and had enrolled in flight school, but deferred when the living arrangements did not work out. At the time, she thought that meant the career she had imagined for herself was not to be.

Behind the scenes at Qantas

The day began with a private tour of the Qantas Integrated Operations Centre for the Gunggandji Aerospace Foundation crew, offering a rare look inside the nerve centre of one of Australia’s largest airlines and a side of aviation people rarely get to see. From flight operations and meteorology to security, engineering and customer service, teams work around the clock to respond to changing weather, aircraft availability, airspace restrictions and disruptions across the network.

As hundreds of flights moved across the screens, it was an immediate reminder of just how many people sit behind every plane in the sky and the breadth of roles it takes to keep an airline running.

The team then joined a panel discussion with young women working across very different parts of Qantas, including aircraft maintenance, network security and flying. Each shared a different journey into aviation and the experiences that had led them to where they were now. There was no single route in, but what they shared was a willingness to explore opportunities, take on challenges and keep learning as their careers developed.

For Eli and Shavinta, seeing young women already building careers across such different parts of aviation made those possibilities feel tangible. They were not simply hearing what women could do in the industry. They were hearing directly from women already doing it.

The conversation continued across the Qantas campus, where more than 50 Qantas employees gave their time to introduce students to careers spanning engineering, flight operations, technology, data, customer experience, sustainability and other parts of the airline. Students moved between teams, asking questions about what they did, how their roles contributed to the airline’s operations and what it takes to build a career in those areas. For Eli and Shavinta, it was a chance to discover just how much was out there.

“Something that inspired me about aviation was seeing how many different career opportunities there are,” Eli said.

Freedom to explore interests

Giving young people the opportunity to explore what’s out there and see where their interests take them is important to the Gunggandji Aerospace Foundation. For Eli and Shavinta, there was plenty to discover, but each was quickly drawn to a specific part of aviation.

Shavinta headed straight for the pilot she had heard speak on the panel, asking questions about her training and how she had built her career, and discovered the Qantas Group Pilot Academy through their conversation. She spoke to other women at the Academy stand, learning all she could about the program and the different pathway it could offer into the career she already knew she wanted. What had felt like a closed door before she arrived in Sydney had opened up again. Shavinta left determined to pursue a place at the Qantas Group Pilot Academy.

Eli headed in a different direction. Her recent work experience in Cairns had given her firsthand exposure to airport and airline operations and confirmed that customer service was where she wanted to be. At Girls in Aviation Day, that was the team she sought out first, learning more about the different pathways to the career she wants.

What comes next 

For the Gunggandji Aerospace Foundation, Eli and Shavinta’s stories are examples of why relationships should not end when an event, program or work experience placement does. By building relationships with young people and understanding what they want to pursue, the Foundation can continue to connect them with experiences, people and opportunities that support their next steps.

“For us, it’s about building genuine long term relationships with young people and staying connected beyond a single experience. Some will know exactly what they want to pursue and others will still be figuring that out,” said Josh Vicks, Gunggandji Aerospace Foundation CEO. “Our role is to work alongside them, create opportunities to explore what’s possible, and give them the knowledge and experiences to make informed choices and forge their own path.”

With support from the Qantas Regional Grants program, the Gunggandji Aerospace Foundation will continue creating opportunities like these, giving young First Nations people the chance to explore what is possible and make their own choices about what comes next