CQUniversity has partnered with Sunshine Coast pilot academy Flight Options, signing an agreement that will see the local business provide practical flight training for CQUniversity students.
"Flight Options Pilot Academy is a group of industry professionals with years of aviation and flight training experience that services the Sunshine Coast region and this agreement will give our Bachelor of Aviation (Flight Operations) students in Noosa a fabulous opportunity to not only fly, but work with an already established pilot academy," CQUniversity Aviation Professor and Head of Course Professor Steven Thatcher said.
"CQUni has a suite of Aviation courses focused on airline pilot education and training. These courses include a Bachelor's degree, an Associate degree and a Graduate Diploma which have all been uniquely designed to encourage students in both regional Australia as well as the capital cities, who have the ability and potential, to become airline pilots."
"This relationship with Flight Options will provide our students with a fantastic integration of coursework through CQUni and pilot training through Flight Options."
A recent Boeing study showed that the airline industry will need 600,000 pilots over the next 20 years.
CQUniversity Associate Vice-Chancellor, Sunshine Coast Region Associate Professor Teressa Schmidt said aviation had proven to be a growth area in the Sunshine Coast Region and she was excited to see this new partnership develop.
"With the expanding Sunshine Coast Airport and increasing aviation operations across the Sunshine Coast, South East Queensland and Wide Bay regions, Aviation is emerging as an excellent career pathway for Sunshine Coast residents, and particularly, our young people," Associate Professor Schmidt explained.
"Through arrangements we have with local schools, particularly Caloundra State High School and the Sunshine Coast Technical and Trade Training Centre and the partnerships with Flight Options Pilot Academy at the Sunshine Coast airport, CQUni aims to provide the optimal pathway into this exciting and growing industry."
Flight Options has been providing essential pilot training to the Sunshine Coast region for seven years.
Managing Director Steve Padgett said the partnership was an exciting chapter in the growth of the Academy and he looked forward to working in synergy with CQUni and its students.
"Through this partnership students can achieve academically with CQUni and also conduct their flight training with the assistance of Fee Help. This opportunity will open the door for many aspiring pilots in the region.
"The sky literally is the limit."