Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has launched an education and recruitment drive in Manchester Airport in the UK called the MAG Connect program to create the next generation of aviation talent.
The program has been designed for people of all ages from primary school pupils to PhD students to showcase the range of opportunities a career in aviation can offer. A network of education and employment facilities will be used to deliver the program, including the Aerozone center for school-aged children and the Airport Academy, which helps job seekers develop their skills and access job opportunities at the airport.
The initiative will be replicated across London Stansted and East Midlands airports. In 2023, the MAG Connect scheme, across these three airports, is projected to support the education of around 12,000 young people, through visiting its Aerozone facilities. The program’s longer-term goals include supporting 60,000 young people through MAG airports’ Aerozones, and a minimum of 7,500 job seekers through its Airport Academies, by 2025.
It will also introduce a Jet Zero curriculum focused on decarbonization throughout its Aerozones by September 2023 and continue to provide free accredited pre-employment training programs aimed at job seekers and upskilling training programs for existing workforces. Alongside this, the company intends to use this scheme to organize multiple on-site job fairs to enable local job seekers to connect with on-site employers and secure roles at MAG’s airports. It will also launch writing competitions for Key Stage 2 and 3 students at schools around MAG airports to feature in a ‘Little Book of Travel Tales’. It will also organize a series of events designed to encourage more female students to take up STEM roles.
Neil Robinson, corporate social responsibility (CSR) director, MAG, said, “MAG Connect is a clear demonstration of our commitment to inspiring the next generation of aviation talent. By illustrating the breadth of opportunities in our industry to young people, and by supporting and upskilling job seekers into exciting career paths, the aviation sector stands to benefit from a new cohort of passionate professionals for the future.
“MAG Connect will play a crucial role in supporting the UK government’s Generation Aviation scheme, and we will continue to work closely with ministers to maximize that support. Our latest annual CSR report outlines the important contribution our education and employment facilities made to our communities over the last 12 months; alongside the progress we have made against our goal to be a net-zero carbon business by 2038. Despite the challenges faced by our industry over the last 12 months, I am proud of what MAG has achieved in delivering a more sustainable future for our industry and those who live closest to our airports.”
