Career Opportunities Taking Off

From the cockpit to the tarmac, the aviation industry offers a wide range of career opportunities.

It has been 20-year-old Lyan Lee's dream to work in the aviation field. To meet her objective, she took the Certificate in Airport Services & Operations study programme at the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy last year.

Jointly offered by the academy and the University of Hong Kong's School of Professional & Continuing Education, the programme incorporates vocational training and employment.

It gives students a four-week fundamental course and a 12-month internship in the industry.

Childhood dream

Ms Lee chose an internship at the Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company and is now an aircraft maintenance mechanics trainee.

Under the guidance of her instructors, she has learned to use equipment to do aircraft repairs.

"Aircraft maintenance work varies every day. If one part of an aircraft is damaged, it does not mean the same part will be damaged in another plane. I come across diverse tasks and this makes my job challenging."

She said her interest in mechanics was influenced by her father.

"When I was small, Dad and I often fixed broken electrical appliances at home. This gave me a sense of success and paved the way for me to do repair work."

Despite the engineering sector being male-dominated, Ms Lee said she plans to continue in the field when her internship ends.

"Although women generally have less physical strength, we work carefully and accurately. It is our advantage."

Ms Lee is one of the more than 80 students enrolled in the first round of the study programme, in which graduates receive a certificate equivalent to Level 3 of the Qualifications Framework.

Ground support

Another student, 20-year-old Eric Fung is a ramp services supervisor trainee.

He checks cargo and assigns colleagues to various posts to ensure cargo is correctly and efficiently delivered to passengers.

"After the plane lands it unloads its cargo. We must remove this cargo and then put more cargo back on the plane. Our target is to finish the work within an hour."

He said he picked this internship because he prefers working outdoors.

The job not only requires him to adhere to tight schedules, but to also be prepared to work in extreme weather conditions. He said he is up for the challenge.

"Once a transit passenger did not board the plane and we had to offload their luggage at the last moment before the plane took off.

"It is not easy to search for a specific piece of luggage among the many of them loaded on a plane. Apart from using our experience, we also demonstrated high efficiency and capability in manpower deployment."

Broad prospects

The Airport Authority established the Aviation Academy in 2016.

The institute offers 170 courses, including beginners' programmes, professional development and technical training, summer day camps and placements for students, as well as professional certificate courses and advanced programmes.

Launching its courses last April, the academy has enrolled more than 5,500 students so far.

The academy's Marketing & Partnership Director Tommy Lai said so far 15 aviation sector companies have joined the internship programme to provide students with on-the-job training.

"We successfully had 15 airport employers to support us, including airlines, ground handling agents, aircraft engineering, aviation services, aircraft catering and also cargo.

"The purpose of setting up the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy is to arouse the interest of the local youth to join the aviation industry. We would also like to support Hong Kong (in becoming) a regional civil aviation training centre."

Applications will open for the second round of the Certificate in Airport Services & Operations programme next month.

A new course called the Certificate in Airport Ramp & Cargo Operation programme will be added in the near future.