Operational support officer Lisa Eavestaff supervises a School to Skies student. Photo / Bevan Conley
Operational support officer Lisa Eavestaff supervises a School to Skies student. Photo / Bevan Conley
A Royal New Zealand Air Force camp is attempting to turn the traditional tide of men into military careers by inspiring young women to take flight.
Eighteen-year-old Ella Hou, who travelled from Dunedin to Ōhakea for the six-day School to Skies camp this week, said the Air Force was completely different from what she had imagined.
“I was expecting everyone to be in grey and everyone to be mean.”
Forty of more than 115 female student applicants were invited to live at Ōhakea Air Force Base and learn about career opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (Stem).
School to Skies had surpassed Hou’s expectations so far.
School to Skies students Ella Hou from Dunedin and Trinity Goodier from Auckland after their turn in the flight simulator. Photo/ Bevan Conley
Air Force operational support officer Lisa Eavestaff said School to Skies aimed to encourage cultural diversity and more female representation in Air Force jobs.
Female representation in jobs across the Air Force is currently 22.6 per cent. By 2025 the Air Force aims to reach 25 per cent.
Currently, 7.2 per cent of aircraft technicians are female, increasing to 8 per cent when including aviation technicians and engineers.
Eavestaff said Stem pathways were often male-dominated sectors and it was doubly hard to attract females to Stem career roles such as being engineers, technicians or pilots in the military.
“Through the experiences they have here, they can suddenly see themselves working in a hangar space or flying an aircraft one day.”
School to Skies students are taught how to do lock wiring by Air Force staff, used when building a Grumman plane. Photo / Bevan Conley
The students would build a two-seater Grumman plane, take part in a flight simulator session and undergo personal development training at Ōhakea.
Aircraft technician Joanna Maoate attended School to Skies in 2019 and returned this year as a teacher for the programme.
“It’s a full-circle moment for me - having been one of them working on the plane to now being able to show the girls how to do it.”
Maoate said when she did the course, it helped her to understand there were many roles the Air Force had to offer for women other than just being a pilot.
Aircraft technician Joanna Maoate (black shirt) teaches students how to attach a wheel to a Grumman plane. Photo / Bevan Conley
Seventeen-year-old Madie Wilson from Te Anau was inspired to sign up to School to Skies after she discussed the course with her aunt and uncle, who both work in the Air Force.
“I definitely saw it as intimidating, but seeing my auntie come through and then other women, I reckoned it would be something that I’d love.”
Wilson said she had also been surprised by the good food on offer, with the best meals being curry, burgers and quiche.
Aircraft technician Daphne Pringle said since the School to Skies camp began in 2017, 33 girls had gone on to join the Air Force.
“Whether girls don’t know about these careers or don’t want to do them is tricky; I think they just don’t get the exposure.”
Another School to Skies camp was held in January for female teachers, who were trained in a raft of new skills such as how to provide modules for students on the principles of flight.
Students who attended the School to Skies camp had to pay for their travel to Ōhakea, but the rest of the camp costs were covered by the Air Force.
