THE WEATHER COOPERATED

Hello and welcome to the blog!

I am super excited writing this as history was just made a few minutes ago. At the time of posting, the Space X crew dragon Capsule is currently in its activation and rendezvous stage and moving closer to its Phase-burn stage. With 16 hours to go to decking at the International Space Station, the USA has made history as it has been able to launch Astronauts on a US rocket from its soil. It last did this in 2011, 9 years ago.

                                          

From Florida’s Kennedy Space centre, the Crew Dragon- Falcon 9 was to originally launch on the 26^th of May 2020, but due to unclear weather, it was slated for the 30^th of May before liftoff. What is interesting however, is that this particular launch had a backup launch for the 7^th of June in case there were technical difficulties with today's launch.

Astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken even though are test pilots become the first NASA Astronauts to operate the first-ever privately developed spaceflight into Earth’s orbit.

 

                                      

This is a very big win for the USA because instead of launching from Baikonur, Russia,  the USA can now launch from its soil.

It is also a very big step for humanity towards the initiative to occupy Mars and go to the Moon again by 2024.

                                             

Just like the strategic plans of Nigeria to launch a Nigerian Astronaut on a Nigerian rocket from Nigerian soil by 2030, this historic day in space exploration has thought us that amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic and other challenges that face us as a Planet, when we begin to reflect on humanity and work together to achieve a common goal, the sky is literally just the beginning. So Nigeria, let's do this!

So on this occasion, I would like to congratulate Elon Musk and all the brains behind the Space X mission on this event and look forward to the next rocket, the Starship as it makes history very soon.

                                        

In conclusion, this blog is dedicated to every person out there inspired by this event. The world definitely needs more visionaries and for every child hoping to be the next Elon Musk, Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, continue to aim for the Moon, even if you don’t get there, you will definitely land amongst the stars.

Thank you for taking out time to read and share this post as we continue to monitor the development from NASA. Should you have any questions, comments or suggestions, do not hesitate to use the comment box.

Please follow my discussions on my LinkedIn account at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayomide-a-jide-omole-062633112 

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ENGAGING THE NEXT AVIATION PROFESSIONAL

Hello and welcome to the blog.

I am very excited about this week’s post as it is the same week as the first-ever private manned spacecraft is expected to be launched into Earth’s orbit from the US soil since 2011. While it has been postponed to the 30^th of May, I will still like to congratulate the brains and muscle behind the Space X crew mission. (For more updates about this, I would be posting on the blog about the event upon eventual launch).

                                    

For this week post, I am excited to be posting an article written by a dear friend of mine and fellow aviation enthusiasts, Ms Gladys Ngbako who is  a graduate of Aviation Management from Coventry University, UK. The founder of iConnect Aviators Ltd which is focused on promoting Aviation in Africa and supporting the next generation of aspiring aviation professionals.

She recently published an article on the journal of aviation professionals where she shared her thoughts on engaging and retaining the next generation of aviation professionals in the African region, the progress of different initiatives addressing the skill gap, the support provided by States, regional and international organizations and industries.

The complete case study can be purchased via Routledge and Amazon in the book engaging the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals. (A link is shared at the end of the reading).

                                

Here is the summary from the article titled “Nurturing the future aviation professional in Africa”

THE CHALLENGE:

As the African region continues to navigate through different approaches to attract highly skilled professionals into aviation careers, there is no doubt that a large contingent of the current generation of aviation professionals will retire soon, therefore the need for new and additional skilled youth is fundamental to the sustainable growth of the industry. 

To engage this demographic, the region is addressing a few predominant myths, providing access to affordable training, addressing skills gaps, and by providing support from states, international and regional organizations, industry and academia.

It is anticipated that the demand for trained aviation professionals will continue to rise and the emphasis to attract more youth is critical. This is particularly important for the African continent as it continues to experience a lack of industry performance and other challenges. 

                                    

THE SOLUTION:

African young people boast more than 720 million, which gives tremendous potential to unlock the power of this human potential. The aviation industry forecasts that the demand for skilled talents within Africa will double over the next 20 years, with the need to source additional 20,000 pilots, engineers, technical specialists, and other relevant positions (Airlines.iata.org, 2019). 

The African region have proven to struggle with change and implantation of innovative ideas for a long time and nothing is simple. Government policies, economic and demographic factors, legacy issues, and challenges with basic education all have been a massive burden on the industry and the possibility of impacting the industry’s future. 

 

Some common myths and challenges causing hindrance to growth are the lack of coherent skills in the aviation disciplines and lack of awareness within the next generation of the types of aviation jobs available further compounds the problem. 

                      

The lack of female representation in the industry have proven to have an effect to attract female students to the industry, as well as the partnership of connecting passionate students into the industry and all the availability of access to financial aid. However, progress from initiatives in different parts of Africa are creating roadmaps to attract the next generation of professionals, although the rate of change has been slow due to the myths and challenges already mentioned.  

Selecting the few aviation initiatives that are laying out approaches for what is required to turn the status quo around; by challenging both governments and private sector are Aviators Africa School Club, AviaGirls Hub, Mamaj in Nigeria; Wonder of Aviation and iFly Academy in South Africa and Dream Alive Foundation, GFPA in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Other outreach by The International Women in Aviation Organization, which has chapters in several African States including Zambia, Botswana, South Africa and Ghana. With efforts of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Next Generation Professionals’ Initiative helps ensure that enough qualified and competent aviation professionals are available with centers in Dakar, Nairobi and Cairo. 

                        

CALL TO ACTION:

It is critical to recognize that the aviation industry is growing rapidly and requires action to ensure that there are qualified and competent aviation professionals in Africa. Therefore, it is imperative to tackle the exciting challenges of building and developing diverse human capital structure for aviation in Africa. 

Thank you for taking out time to read and share this post. Should you have any questions, comments or suggestions for Ms. Shekoyecenu Gladys Ngbako, you can reach or via mail at (gladysngbako@gmail.com) or you can also use the comment box. 

Link to the full article at https://books.google.nl/books?id=V1PODwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=engaging+the+next+generation+of+aviation+professionals&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiE2MfmjbTpAhXD6aQKHWP2A68Q6AEIKzAA#v=onepage&q=engaging%20the%20next%20generation%20of%20aviation%20professionals&f=false

Please follow my discussions on my LinkedIn account at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ayomide-a-jide-omole-062633112 

THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. images on the blog are copyright to its respectful owners. if there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you, and you do not wish for it to appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.