One of our favourite Airbus mentors George Jenkins, now in his third year working on the Flying Challenge programme, attended a careers fair at Bristol Metropolitan Academy on 21st November. Some of the students attending were ex Flying Challenge participants that George had mentored last year. Naturally they came over to say hello. All were keen to tell him the longer-term impact that the programme had on them. Here is a selection of what they had to say:
- I really miss going into Airbus, I want to go back!
- I can see the value of the skills we talked about in the portfolio now
- I’m definitely interested in engineering but also politics stuff, I’m more confident now so I have found out about these things and think I could do them
- I want to be an engineer in future
- I want to be involved in aviation – maybe not engineering but something to do with aviation
- I think it really helped my teamwork skills
- The undergraduate apprenticeship that the mentors were doing sound good
We at Ablaze are thrilled to hear that the Airbus Foundation programme is having a lasting impact on the students that take part. As George said, ‘it’s great to see that we’re having a positive impact!’.
George is a Repair Stress Engineer. This means that he works in the structure repair manual team, and his role is to calculate ‘allowable damage’ on an aircraft. Allowable damage refers to how big a ‘damage’ (such as a dent or scratch) can be and still be safe for the plane to fly.
Airbus Group is a global leader in aeronautics, space and defence-related services, creating cutting edge technology around the world.
The Airbus Foundation is at the very heart of the Airbus Group, committed to bringing together the products and people of our global aerospace company to help address the challenges of today’s society. The Airbus Foundation supports the work of humanitarian groups and inspires the next generation as they prepare to embrace their future.
The Airbus Flying Challenge is the Airbus Foundation flagship youth development programme. It aims to inspire young people to continue their education, find their professional vocation and realise their dreams.
Be inspired by the Airbus Foundation’s new Discovery Space Digital Platform which aims to inspire young people in aerospace. Click here for animations, competitions and great challenges – and prepare to reach for the stars! This platform is being updated all the time and the next phase of ‘flight physics’ will be launched soon…