East London - The Eastern Cape Transport MEC says young black women should be at the forefront of the aviation industry rather than just settle for being flight attendants.
Thandiswa Marawu, speaking at an aviation open day held at the East London airport on Sunday, said the days of pilot shortages in the country's aviation sector should come to an end.
"We are looking forward to the day when pilot shortages are a thing of the past. We want to see more young Africans, especially girls, not just serving refreshments, but also being pilots, captains and air traffic controllers," said Marawu.
She added that even though this sounded like a pipe dream, it is a dream that could be achieved "if the relevant stakeholders believed in their individual and collective strengths."
Marawu said her department remained committed to ensuring that the provision of access to aviation for previously marginalised groups would continue through their partnership with local service providers such as AV8 Helicopters and the 43 Air School in Port Alfred.
"We remain hopeful that working together, we can have more female instructors, especially from the Eastern Cape," said Marawu.
It was this same commitment that saw Sibabalo Tyu and Qhamani Mandindi receiving their pilots' licenses from AV8 Helicopters last year, courtesy of the department's bursary programme, which has already benefitted over 300 people in the province.
Tyu said he and Mandindi have been all over the country, speaking to and encouraging school children to fulfill their dreams.
"We've been telling kids that they can make something of their lives, no matter what background they come from. We remind them that the most important thing is to work hard towards realizing that dream," said Tyu, speaking at the open day.
Marawu said the department was working towards repositioning the transport sector in the province to satisfy government's developmental priorities, including building skills and human resources.
