Textron Aviation announced today (Jan. 24) that applications for its summer high school internships are due by Feb. 12. The internship opportunities will run from June 3 to July 12 and are open to students aged 16 to 19. In addition, Textron is offering K-12 educators “externships” in Wichita, Kansas, between June 10-14 and July 15-19 to “provide an opportunity for educators to gain valuable insights into the aviation industry and explore potential career pathways.”
The student internships are paid part-time positions that enable young people with an interest in aviation to learn from Textron’s professionals while contributing their own skills and efforts to real-world projects. Areas of interest include piloting, engineering, maintenance, avionics, flight operations and customer service, according to Textron. According to the company, “These exclusive internships are designed to provide young minds with hands-on experience and exposure to diverse skills within the aviation industry.”
The educator externships are programmed to enable participants to work with aviation professionals to learn, firsthand, about modern advances in all levels of aeronautical technology. Textron said, “These externships aim to inspire and empower educators, enabling them to bring real-world experiences and knowledge back to their classrooms.”
Imagine a high school education where textbooks meet the real world. In the 1950s, that’s just what my education looked like. Mandatory shop classes in carpentry, sheet metal, and electrical may have felt unwelcome at the time, but those hands-on skills became the cornerstone of my work as an electro-mechanical draftsman, product designer and subsequently a manufacturer.
This direct application of theory, which can be fostered through teacher externships, is as important as student internships. By equipping educators with real-world experiences, we can ensure future generations graduate with not just knowledge, but with the practical skills to bridge the gap between classroom and career.
Thank you Textron!
I’m with you 100% Raf. No better way to inspire and train. I have a 5 -1/2 yr old grandson who had the time of his life totally disassembling a laser printer. Was pulling at his parents at 6:15 am to get to work!
Excellent work, Textron. This program addresses a huge need not filled by what education has become.
With a majority of young women; I would assume that most will drop out because of marriage, family, or the simple fact that it’s hard physical labor. Like roofing, welding and plumbing, few women actually chose being a mechanic as a career path.
Nobody said anything about it being majority young women, or about the internships being exclusively for mechanics. Some of y’all are so afraid of diversity increasing you’ll find a boogeyman behind every bush.
Did you look at the picture?
Of course people should be concerned when hiring is illegally being based on sex and ethnicity. Calling illegal hiring practices by nice sounding euphemisms is not a virtue.
I’m as against racism and sexism as the next guy. I’m against hiring less qualified people because of their race or sex. People should be hired on merit, not just because they are non-white or non-male.
With that said this program sees like it will be equally open for anyone, not based on sex race, or whatever else we are supposed to divide ourselves up on nowadays.
Arthur can you try a teensy bit to sound like less of an old fart?
We have a lot of women urologists these days and they get in on merit and do good work – admittedly most of them will take some time out having a family.
You might even wind up having one of them do your prostate rebore!
I think companies are more flexible with time off for family and other amenities. I think it’s not fair to assume women will drop out necessarily. Men drop out too albeit for other reasons. So why not give all those who are interested in an internship, the chance to try something out.