On July 10, Boeing announced a $500,000 investment package to fund pilot training scholarships and help grow and diversify the talent pipeline.
Boeing also announced a separate $450,000 investment in Fly Compton, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit working to introduce minority youth to opportunities within aerospace. The company’s investment will help increase the number of flight training classes offered to underserved students in LA’s Compton community and introduce additional programming focused on drones, aircraft mechanics and aircraft engineering into the nonprofit’s training curriculum.
Employment figures show that the percentage of female pilots in the U.S. is less than 5%. The percentage of black pilots is less than 2%. Black female pilots are estimated to be less than 1%.
Boeing announced it is committed to helping grow these figures to more equitable levels through the support of organizations that provide opportunities to those who might not otherwise have a chance to succeed in aviation careers.
Aviation careers and long-term demand for newly qualified aviation personnel remains strong. Boeing projects that 602,000 new pilots will be needed to fly and maintain the global commercial fleet over the next 20 years.
“We are grateful for the tremendous support from our partners at Boeing. They continue to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to breaking down barriers for minority youth within the aviation industry. At Fly Compton, we know that lack of exposure, access to resources and the high cost of flight training prevents underrepresented populations from exploring careers in aviation. We focus on eliminating these barriers to entry, and this funding package from Boeing helps us continue this important work,” said Demetrius Harris, president and executive director of Fly Compton.
On Saturday, July 29, Boeing employees will be at Fly Compton teaching local students flight fundamentals and engineering principles through STEM competitions. There will be two sessions. The first session will take place from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The second session is scheduled to be held from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
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