The sky will be the limit for students taking on a new program encouraging First Nations youth into aviation careers.
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Young people from remote and regional communities across north Queensland and the Torres Strait Islands will get hands-on experience with the aviation industry through Raising Horizons.
The program, run by Indigenous aerospace consultancy Gunggandji Aerospace, is particularly focused on getting more First Nations girls into aviation, but is also open to boys.
Gunggandji Aerospace founder and chief executive Daniel Joinbee said it's about showing the students what's possible in aviation.
"I want to change the narrative about what we're capable of doing," he told AAP.
"Get out into communities and talk to young kids about what are the opportunities and pathways into aviation and space, because it's not just being a pilot and it's not just being an astronaut."
Mr Joinbee is an air force veteran and Gunggandji man from the community of Yarrabah in far north Queensland.
It was while consulting for Boeing that he realised there was a gap in the sector, prompting him to start the nation's only Indigenous-owned aerospace consultancy.
The Raising Horizons program, which is set to begin in Townsville in January 2025, is a partnership between Gunggandji Aerospace, Rex Airlines and NRL Cowboys House, with funding from the federal government.
The students will be connected with mentors throughout the program, something Mr Joinbee said is important to support them on their journey.
"One of the things that women in aviation already say is that there's a lack of mentors for emerging females in the industry to get behind them," he said.
"There will be males on the program as well and it's just as important for these young men to see that there are women in these leadership roles, because that's how we create holistic social change.
"It's not boys as fighter pilots and girls as crew attendants - everyone has a place in aviation and it is an exciting career that we can all actively participate in."
But Mr Joinbee said it's important to keep the young people engaged long after they've completed Raising Horizons.
"It's not just about the eight module program, and then we high-five the kids and say 'all the best, see you later'," he said.
"There has to be follow-through, there has to be ongoing mentoring and there has to be a bigger sense of more."
Gunggandji Aerospace also facilitates "non-traditional pathways" into the aviation sector for young adults.
Mr Joinbee said they're designed to help First Nations people who have not finished high school, have been incarcerated or are parents of young children to get into aviation and space industries.
His vision is for aviation to be a viable career option for all First Nations people.
"I just want to see that aviation is seen as an accessible pathway for mob," he said.
Australian Associated Press
