By Michelle Bailey
The documentary Only Up, produced and directed by Nav Canada air traffic controller Kendra Kincaid, was released in early 2024 begging the question: why are there so few women in aviation?
Despite a massive talent shortage that exceeds the wingspan of a 747, there continues to be a deficit in the number of women in the aerospace industry.
Stats provided by Women in Aerospace Canada show in April 2025, women who work in the field represented less than 20 per cent.
According to Manitoba Aerospace, over 5,000 people work in the industry here at home, earning an average annual wage of $60,000. The state-of-the-art aerospace and defence industry is considered the largest in western Canada and third largest aerospace hub in Canada, valued at more than $2.1 billion dollars.
Yet, similar to what is happening nationally, woman in the keystone province make up less than 20 per cent of skilled workers in aerospace and aviation. These include jobs traditionally held by men, from welders to gas turbine engineers.
The good news is that the disparity is not being ignored. There are employers who are taking positive steps to make changes.
Case in point is Manitoba’s StandardAero. With the goal of hiring more women into technical positions and fill immediate recruitment needs, the company with 1,300 employees joined forces with Manitoba Aerospace, the Manitoba Government and the Manitoba Institute for Trades & Technology (MITT) to deliver the Women Transitioning to Careers in Aerospace program.
The actions of StandardAero in supporting this initiative were recently recognized by The Chartered Professionals in Human Resources Manitoba (CPHR) at the 2025 HR Excellence Awards event. The company received The Unity Award for advancing diversity, inclusivity and accessibility at work.
During the 21-week course, students develop their skills through a mix of classroom instruction, work-integrated learning and mentorship, gaining foundational knowledge in gas turbine repair and overhaul. They also earn a Gas Turbine Disassembly and Assembly micro-certificate from MITT.
“It creates a direct pathway to employment with StandardAero, and an important part of the process for selecting the 15 women who will receive an offer to join the program is having them interviewed by StandardAero,” Jennifer Davidson, coordinator of industry training at MITT explains.
“Once participants successfully complete the 21-week Women Transition to Careers in Aerospace program, they become paid trainees at StandardAero, and upon completion of that 12-week training program, they become employees at the company.”
The program, says Davidson, has really taken off.
“This is the second intake offered through MITT,” says Davidson. “There were far more applicants in this year’s intake than there was room for in the program, indicating a continued strong interest from women to join the aerospace industry.”
“We’ve found that the women who have come through this program have a strong attention to detail, which serves them well in this industry. A lot of trades industries are working hard to recruit new talent and including women in those efforts creates a much larger talent pool to draw from,” she says.
Davidson says recruitment for the program is through Manitoba Aerospace in conjunction with StandardAero.
“MITT supports promotion of the program by sharing information about the program on its social media channels and setting up a program page on the website with all the details applicants need to apply.”
