01 Jun Exploring My Future Career Path – The Opportunity with SfS VWEX
Written by Aarool –Year 10 student
On Tuesday the 12th April 2022, I was awarded the opportunity to attend the VWEX (Virtual Work Experience), conducted by Air League and supported by the national charity Speakers for Schools (SfS). The event was named: “Soaring to Success: Aviation & Aerospace Careers Day”
It was a bright day – the start of first week of Easter break, and the excitement lingered in the air as I waited for the session to start; only one thought was on my mind since I had woken up: “When will 10 am arrive? It’s so long to wait!”
Log-in was promptly at 9:45 am, for the work experience to start virtually over on Google Meet at 10:00 am, and we were given resources to look through. There was a table provided with an intriguingly supportive table guidance, on how to layer out a portfolio for the future. However slowly but surely, I started getting the gist of the task.
The session began with an Air League scholar informing us about the company profile and how they support young people in their career, as well as a case study of their success story – I knew from this very moment, that this work experience will be very insightful and helpful, therefore ‘waiting’ was off the dictionary for that moment.
Firstly, we welcomed a speaker from Eagle Eye Innovations, who spoke about their company, and how they aim their innovative employees to design and manufacture variety-purposed Drones and RPS (Remotely Piloted System). This company is indeed very clever and it gave me food for thought, on such a broad field of aviation.
Did you know, the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) introduced the manufacture of Drones and RPS as a sector of Aerospace Aviation in the U.K in 2018?
Next session, we had two ambassadors representing the Department of Transport, which, in the aspect of aviation, focuses more on general aviation. This is a sector of aviation which is solely for personal leisure, such as private pilots, or gliding clubs, etc.
It was without doubt one of the most helpful sessions, because it was here that we found out various key potential volunteering opportunities which will help build our future career. Specifically an example of this is the volunteered Gliding Winch Launch Control personnel. While there are also amateur simple volunteering tasks such as maintenance of glider crafts, both are equally respected on a portfolio for future job prospects.
After a quick short break, we had two speakers from British Airways, providing insights into apprenticeships and internships respectively. This session was thought-provoking and provided a look into future opportunities inside the Aviation industry. This session has made me realise a broad spectrum of available opportunities. It came as a shock, to be honest, as I did not know there were SO MANY pathways in the field of Aviation, this was an eye-opening session!
Later, there was a session with RAF representatives speaking about career pathways in the RAF, and then we had lunch break.
Because questions were riddling my mind, I finished my lunch in a mere 5 minutes, and came back to ask questions to British Airways representatives for the remainder of lunch break! It was indeed worth it, as my curiosity had been peaked and resolved as well.
The next two sessions were very interesting, as they were quite a unique reflection inside the field of aviation itself. The first one was by a UK space agency KISPE, in which the speaker, rather than providing this and that information, focused on the development of portfolio as a whole, mentioning things like soft skills, extra-curricular opportunities, things to show your passion, were recommended by the speaker; I found this really fascinating as this was a completely new take in this work experience, and I learnt a great deal in this session.
Do you know that KISPE is actually a project engineering, system design and implementation company, working in the space, telecommunications and electronics fields?
Following on, we had speakers from the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority), and this was, to me personally, the best session in this work experience. We received fresh information, new opportunities, clear potential ideals, and different pathways to consider! I enjoyed this session immensely.
And finally, we got to hear another lovely and inspiring story from an Air League scholar, and how she was successful in the aviation industry. To wrap everything up, we had the opportunity to ask questions. As usual, I had a lot of questions, and the session went 15 minutes over, while the majority of the other participants had already left!
When reflected back upon this, I am extremely grateful for Mrs Nguyen and Speakers for Schools to provide me with this opportunity through Air League, because I have learnt so many new things with this work experience. As mentioned earlier, it was indeed an ‘eye-opener’; I now feel one step forward towards my career goal…
“Great things come from hard work and perseverance. No Excuses.”
Kobe Bryant (American professional basketball player)
