The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) today announced the winners of a new scholarship program aimed at boosting aviation safety in Australia.
Three aviation safety manager scholarships – worth up to $5,000 each – were awarded to Georgina Chisholm from Heli-Muster in the Northern Territory, Sean Innes of McDermott Aviation Queensland, and Jai Bradford at Hamilton Island Air, also in Queensland.
CASA Director of Aviation Safety and CEO Pip Spence said it's vital that we continue to support those in the aviation community who are committed to building a healthy aviation safety culture.
'Aviation safety managers play a crucial role in maintaining Australia's excellent safety record,' Ms Spence said.
'I would like to congratulate Georgina, Sean and Jai on being the inaugural recipients of this scholarship and thank them for their work to date in contributing to aviation safety in Australia.
'We hope the scholarship encourages and helps you build your aviation safety knowledge and skills through your ongoing professional development.
'The safety manager role is a key position for many aviation companies and safety managers are an integral part of an organisation's management team.
'It's a testament to our scholarship initiative that we had more than 50 applicants. Our panel had a tough time deliberating and choosing our 3 very deserving winners.'
Ms Spence pointed to significant community expectations regarding aviation safety, noting that aviation organisations needed to take the issue seriously while demonstrating they were managing it in a systematic way.
'The level and quality of training and resources provided to an aviation safety manager is often a reliable indicator as to how an organisation and their senior management views safety as a whole,' she said.
'But many safety managers – especially in smaller companies – often find themselves having to wear several different hats in their roles. It's important that they're provided with appropriate industry opportunities as well as sufficient time and resources to do their jobs properly,' she says.
Ms Spence said getting people interested in aviation and developing the expertise of those already in the industry was crucial to the well-being of our sector.
'This scholarship is one way we can encourage people to develop what we all know will be interesting and worthwhile careers in an exciting and challenging industry,' she said.
'We will also soon be re-opening our aircraft maintenance engineers scholarships worth $5,000 each to help 3 up-and-coming engineers achieve their Part 66 aircraft maintenance engineers' licence.
'Our industry is more than just about people who fly the planes. At CASA, we're deeply committed to proactively supporting the aviation industry as a whole and our scholarships initiatives are a testament to this.'
