CAE and OBAP promote diversity in aviation with CAE Business Aviation Scholarship

CAE and the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) announced today at the NBAA Conference and Exhibition that CAE will be offering a CAE Business Aviation Scholarship for a Bombardier Challenger 350 aircraft type-rating to OBAP.  

The full scholarship will give a qualified pilot the opportunity to pursue their Challenger 350 type-rating training at one of CAE’s business aviation training centres. The CAE Business Aviation Scholarship will be open for application in early 2024.

“CAE forecasts a need for 284,000 new pilots globally over the next 10 years, yet only two per cent of pilots today are Black or African American. We are proud to partner with organizations like OBAP to attract Black, Indigenous and People of Colour to a career in aviation and offer an aspiring pilot the opportunity to pursue a rewarding career in the flight deck,” said Alexandre Prevost, CAE’s division president, Business Aviation and Helicopter Training. 

“CAE is committed to fostering a culture of diversity and inclusion within our organization, our communities, and our industry,” said Pascale Alpha, CAE’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer.

“While the demand for qualified pilots is high, access to training is a barrier of entry for many. As the world leader in pilot training, we are already playing a role in bringing more diversity to aviation with our ‘Women in Flight’ Ambassador Program and our scholarships for women in corporate aviation, and we are proud to expand our scholarship programs to attract people from underrepresented communities and show them that a future is aviation is exciting and accessible.”

Michael Ponce, OBAP Scholarship Committee chair, expressed his excitement about this initiative, stating: “We are thrilled to offer the CAE Challenger 350 Scholarship in partnership with CAE.

“This partnership reinforces OBAP’s unwavering commitment to increasing diversity in the industry by providing opportunities for our membership to pursue careers in aerospace. It also expands our organization’s reach into the business aviation sector, offering a leg up to aviators who might not otherwise have access.”

OBAP is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the aerospace industry, and this scholarship represents the organization’s commitment to that goal. 

For more information about the CAE Challenger 350 Scholarship and the application process, visit https://obap.org/outreach-programs/scholarships/.

This press release was prepared and distributed by CAE.