Minister of Transport urges learners to take the road less travelled

Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula has urged secondary school learners from the province to pursue careers in aviation.
Mabulala was addressing an International Civil Aviation Day (Icad) at Polokwane International Airport on Saturday.
He told the learners that they must be ambitious and not think that aviation is for a certain class or group of people.
He said there are lot of job opportunities in the sector which young people can leverage from and the Department of Transport, through its entities is willing to assist them in getting into aviation.
He said the are 227 white helicopter airline pilots, in comparison with five africans, one coloured, and one indian licence holders. “The category of aircraft maintenance engineers appears only marginally better, with 1831 white licence holders, 500 African, 454 coloured and 53 Indian holders. Airline transport pilots of aeroplanes number 2639 are white, in comparison with 83 African, 40 coloured and 54 Indian licence holders in this category. This is why we are investing in young talent to change this. We would like to encourage all the learners that an aviation career is by no means out of your reach. The world is full of possibilities. The secret is a combination of interest, talent, and above all, the right training and education for your chosen field. Airports Company of South Africa South African Cabin Crew Association have loads in store for future aviation.”
He further stated that the South African National Defence Force and South African Police Service continue to play an important role in their work to get the aviation sector transformed. “We will get more young people, especially women to fly our planes for defence, policing and commercial purposes. We are serious about transformation and we will continue to do this. If we consider the career opportunities in aviation, which for the learners of today would be a long-term goal for the future, we need to ask of ourselves, will there be aviation job opportunities in the future All indications are that the answer is a resounding yes,” Mabula told the leaners.
The event also attracted multitudes of community members who were disappointed after they were unable to witness the planned air show which was suspended as a result of inclement weather.

Story/photo: Herbert Rachuene
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