Calgary youth take trip to WestJet to gain hands-on aviation experience

CTV Calgary: WestJet mentoring Canadian youth Calgary-based airline WestJet has stepped up to mentor 100 youth across the country through the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization.

Youth from Big Brothers Big Sisters took part in a WestJet mentorship initiative on Friday morning at airports across the country to learn the ins and outs of aviation.

About 100 youth spent the day at WestJet’s headquarters in Calgary and at 28 airports across Canada for the company’s Mentoring Matters Day.

"Over the last 10 years, WestJet Cares for Kids has found meaningful ways to positively impact the health and well-being of Canadian children and youth," said Richard Bartrem, WestJet Vice-President Marketing Communications. "Today, we go beyond the gift of flight to give the gift of insight and experience.”

The teens will learn about what it takes to be part of a flight crew and will job shadow baggage handlers, customer service reps, accountants and marketers for a behind the scenes experience.

“We really want to demonstrate to all the youth across Canada all of the possible career opportunities within aviation and help provide them with some possible direction that they may want to look at in the future,” said Lauren Stewart, WestJet Spokesperson. “This really gives the children a great opportunity to kind of see the ins and outs that take place here at WestJet and have the chance to really have an in-depth conversation with WestJetters across the country and hopefully get inspired to look into these career options.”

“They were so excited. They were excited to see what it looks like behind the scenes. They were excited to get into the brain centre of WestJet,” said Jody Lundrigan, National Director Communications and Marketing, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada. “This is an opportunity to really give them a chance to take a look at what the aviation industry looks like and get them thinking about what careers they might want to get into.”

The program hopes to help youth with their educational goals and career objectives and Lundrigan says the it gives youth the confidence to achieve more, which is what Big Brothers Big Sisters is all about.

For more information on the Mentoring Matters program follow the hashtag #MentoringMatters or click HERE.