- Eight scholarships will be awarded to young Canadian women
studying to become commercial pilots or maintenance
engineers
- Four aspiring commercial pilots to become CAE Women in
Flight – Air Canada ambassadors
- Scholarship applications open as of
today here
Editor's Note: A video celebrating the achievements of
some past winners is available here.
MONTREAL, Nov. 1, 2023
/CNW/ - Air Canada and CAE, two Montreal-based global aviation companies,
today marked the fifth anniversary of the Captain Judy Cameron
Scholarship and announced that applications for the 2024 edition of
the Scholarship are now open.
Up to eight young Canadian women studying to become commercial
pilots or aircraft maintenance engineers will be awarded
scholarships to pursue their training in 2024. Of the eight, four
recipients training to be commercial pilots will join the CAE Women
in Flight program as ambassadors.
"As this scholarship goes into its fifth year, it is incredibly
gratifying to see the accomplishments of previous recipients. These
young women have realized their dreams and are soaring high in all
regions of Canada. From the
cockpit of a 737 to a flight instructor job, these scholarship
recipients are wonderful role models. I am so proud of Air Canada
and CAE's support for Canadian women in aviation," said
Judy Cameron, Boeing 777 Captain at
Air Canada (retired), and Director, Northern Lights Aero
Foundation.
"It makes me, and everyone at Air Canada, extremely proud to see
the success of many of our past recipients of the Captain Judy
Cameron Scholarship. Already, some have achieved their goals of
becoming commercial pilots or Aircraft Maintenance Engineers and I
look forward to seeing their careers progress. And the future is
bright not only for them, but the next group of recipients as we
celebrate the fifth anniversary of this wonderful scholarship named
after Air Canada's first female pilot. Congratulations to all,"
said Murray Strom, Senior Vice
President, Flight Operations and Maintenance at Air Canada.
"We are proud to help fund the training of our four Women in
Flight ambassadors and look forward to seeing all eight scholarship
recipients follow in Captain Judy
Cameron's footsteps and pursue a career in aviation at a
critical time. CAE forecasts a need for 63,000 commercial
pilots in North America over the
next 10 years, so we have to broaden the appeal of a career in
aviation and support underrepresented groups, including women, who
currently represent only five percent of pilots. Not only will
these deserving recipients have the chance to follow their chosen
career paths, but they will also become role models to the young
women who will become the next generation of aviation
professionals," said Michel Azar-Hmouda, CAE's Division President,
Commercial Aviation Training.
The annual Captain Judy Cameron Scholarships, established in
honour of Air Canada's first female pilot to help foster the next
generation of women following in her trailblazing footsteps, are
awarded in conjunction with the Northern Lights Aero
Foundation.
The Captain Judy Cameron
scholarships were launched in 2019 and initially awarded to four
recipients. Since 2023, Air Canada and CAE have joined forces to
double the number of recipients and award eight scholarships to
deserving women.
Scholarship applications open on Nov. 1,
2023 here.
About Judy
Cameron
Judy Cameron became the first female pilot hired by Air
Canada, Canada's largest airline, in April
1978 at the age of 23. She was the first woman to graduate
from Selkirk College's Aviation Technology Program in
1975. Throughout her flying career of 40 years and over 23,000
hours, she has flown the DC-3, Twin Otter, Hawker Siddeley 748,
DC-9, Lockheed 1011, Airbus 320, Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 to the
far corners of the world. She became a captain in 1997 and in 2010,
she became the first female captain in Canada of a Boeing
777, the largest aircraft in Air Canada's fleet. She retired in
2015, received the Elsie MacGill Northern Lights award in the
Flight Operations category that year, and in 2016 she was chosen by
the 99s (International Organization of Women Pilots) to be on its
Canadian postage stamp. Today, Captain Cameron continues her
volunteer work mentoring and supporting the next generation of
female pilots with the Northern Lights Aero Foundation.
Air Canada proudly launched
the Captain Judy Cameron Scholarship in her honour in
2019.
About CAE Women in Flight
Ambassador Program
CAE's Women in Flight Ambassador program is helping create a
movement to encourage young girls and women to dream big and have
no limits. As only five percent of pilots worldwide are women, this
program is geared to show women that they too can reach for the
sky. The goal of the program is to build a community of ambassadors
who demonstrate leadership skills, active involvement in their
communities, perseverance, who are passionate about aviation, and
inspire women to join the pilot profession.
Launched in 2018, the Women in Flight Ambassador program was
expanded in July 2022 to include
partnerships with more airline customers to increase the number of
scholarships given.
This is a co-branded program in which CAE is partnering with
airline customers globally to create women pilot ambassadors via
scholarships ranging from partially funded to fully funded pilot
training.
To learn more about the program, go to CAE Women in Flight
Ambassador Program | CAE
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest airline, the country's flag
carrier and a founding member of Star
Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation
network. Air Canada provides
scheduled service directly to more than 180 airports in
Canada, the United States and Internationally on six
continents. It holds a Four-Star ranking from Skytrax. Air
Canada's Aeroplan program is
Canada's premier travel loyalty
program, where members can earn or redeem points on the world's
largest airline partner network of 45 airlines, plus through an
extensive range of merchandise, hotel and car rental rewards. Its
freight division, Air Canada Cargo, provides air freight lift and
connectivity to hundreds of destinations across six continents
using Air Canada's passenger and freighter aircraft. Air
Canada aims to achieve an
ambitious net zero emissions goal from all global operations by
2050. Air Canada shares are
publicly traded on the TSX in Canada and the OTCQX in the US.
About CAE
At CAE, we equip people in critical roles with the expertise and
solutions to create a safer world. As a technology company, we
digitalize the physical world, deploying software-based simulation
training and critical operations support solutions. Above all else,
we empower pilots, cabin crew, airlines, defence and security
forces and healthcare practitioners to perform at their best every
day and when the stakes are the highest. Around the globe, we're
everywhere customers need us to be with more than 13,000 employees
in approximately 250 sites and training locations in over 40
countries. CAE represents more than 75 years of industry firsts—the
highest-fidelity flight, mission and medical simulators and
training programs powered by digital technologies. We embed
sustainability in everything we do. Today and tomorrow, we'll make
sure our customers are ready for the moments that matter.
Follow us on Twitter: @CAE_Inc
Facebook: www.facebook.com/cae.inc
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/cae
Hashtags: #CAE; #CAEpilot
Read our FY23 Global Annual Activity and Sustainability
Report
Read our 2023 Aviation Talent Forecast
Internet: aircanada.com/media
Sign up for Air Canada news: aircanada.com
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SOURCE Air Canada