Madam Juliet Okae, Deputy Director General in-charge of Finance at the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has urged young ladies to take up courses in STEM to enable them pursue career in the Aviation industry.
She said research had shown that most young ladies were afraid of studying STEM courses, which had contributed to the low participation in the aviation industry.
Madam Okae was speaking at the Aviation Career Day, organised by Aviation Youth Mentoring Programme, a non-profit based in Washington DC, in collaboration with the Ghana Air Force.
The event seeks to provide students the opportunity to participate in interactive experiences and conversations with pilots, air traffic controllers, and aerospace professionals globally.
'A lot of ladies are afraid of science subjects, so we will have to deal with that and urge them to take up courses in Aviation to get more females into the sector,' she said.
Madam Osae, who is also President of Women in Aviation said that the Ministry of Transport, together with other entities was working hand in hand to get more females to pursue courses on scholarship to boost their confidence to join the industry.
The Deputy Director General said GCAA was committed in encouraging more women into the sector, hence, organising 'Girls in Aviation' programmes, where children below the age of six years were taken through a series of educational programmes.
'Not only science courses, but we even have individuals who serve as cabin crew on the aircraft and Aviation is not only about piloting,' she said.
She said, 'The industry is dynamic and fun, so one is always learning because there is always something new, hence, I am urging them to work very hard and study to be on top of their game.'
Mrs Melinda Benson Viteri, Co-Founder and Director of Education at AYMP said it was important to pave way for the young people, especially the ladies, to encourage them to pursue courses that would land them in the sector.
'Women in aviation, especially female pilots, are very few, not to talk of how many black female pilots in the industry and these are the statistics that we really need to be pushing and talking about on a daily basis,' she said.
She encouraged females, who were facing discrimination at their various workplaces in the industry to report issues of that sort for it to be addressed.
'We need to recruit more women, it can be a second career in aviation, come on board and join this amazing workforce because women in aviation are fun, passionate and dedicated to their job,' she added.
Flight Lieutenant Naa Aku Shika Allotey of the Ghana Airforce said there was a need to create awareness to highlight the opportunities available in the Aviation industry to encourage the interest of these ladies.
'There is a misconception that Aviation is only about science, we mentioned that with Geography alone without necessarily having to study science,' she said.
The event saw students from Afia Kobi Ampem Senior High School, Forces Senior High School, St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School, and Accra Girls Senior High School among others participated in the event.
Aviation Youth Mentoring Programme aims at stimulating and encouraging STEM opportunities for the youth, providing pilot and mechanic training, setting up flight simulator training and mentorship seminars, developing leadership potentials and exposing them to participate and advance in various types of employment in the field of aviation.
Source: Ghana News Agency