Participants, aviators and career counsellors at the ACE Camp 2023 of the NBCFAE in a group photograph inside the new MMIA terminal in Lagos
A non-Governmental Organization, the National Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Employees has exposed over 250,000 students to career in aviation in Nigeria.
The organization based in the United States of America with its chapter in Nigeria helps to encourage secondary school students to take up career in aviation geared towards building manpower for the Nigeria aviation industry in the future.
The body organized a two day career programme in Lagos tagged Aviation Career Education, ACE camp at the Lagos airport.
The programme had in attendance over 77 secondary school students from different schools including the less privileged across Lagos state.
It also attracted 26 aviators from different fields in Aviation from the United States of America all members of the Black Coalition of Federal Aviation Workers.
The career programme according to the National President of the Black Coalition Mr. Freddie Green is organized for children to help them know the career opportunities available in the Aviation industry and also serves as an avenue to prepare their minds and to bring their interest in to the Aviation industry.
He noted that, the organisation founded by six black Air Traffic Controllers in America over 45 years ago had distributed to worthy students over one million US dollars in scholarships.
“It helps them to further their career and helps them to move on to Aviation related fields, we try to expose them to air traffic control, human resources, medical field, every Field in Aviation career is what we do”.
Secretary General of the National Black Coalition in Nigeria, Mrs. Funmi Adeyemi said last year, two scholarships were given to help the students further their career in aviation after winning an essay competition.
“Some earlier years some have been able to go further in the US, some have been able to go schools, some have been able to do exchange programmes, last year, we had an essay competition and we were able to give some scholarships”.
Two of the students, Edosa and Precious Odeh who participated in the programme speak on their experience.
“Am here for a better Nigeria, to make Nigeria a developed country. I learnt it takes a diligent person to make an aeroplane, how the plane fly and what can cause a crash”.
Highlights of the career programme in partnership with the Nigeria Immigration Service was a tour of the airside, the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria project, TRACON and the control tower of Murtala Mohammed International airport, Lagos.