Global helicopter operator PHI International and Massey University School of Aviation have joined forces in a new partnership that will launch the careers of the next generation of aviation professionals.
The tie-up opens the door for the School’s top Aviation Management students to gain valuable, on-the-ground experience working at New Zealand-headquartered PHI, whose global reach spans Australia, Ghana, Cyprus, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia.
Students will be offered internships working on projects alongside PHI’s teams in fields including flight operations, engineering, safety and quality and information technology.
PHI International Safety and Quality Director Rob Cavers said PHI is excited to build a long-term relationship with the School of Aviation and play a role in educating and training the industry’s future leaders. “The new relationship represents one of the ways PHI is nurturing the next generation of talent in our industry,” Rob said. “As a host company to the School, we are delighted to offer a place for the country’s top students to test out their options for careers in aviation.
“We will support them to build the knowledge, analytical and research skills that will help set them up for success and a long and successful career in our diverse and essential industry.”
Anke Smith, the School’s Business Development and International Programs manager, said as the first helicopter operator in its network of host organizations, PHI offers students exposure to a new type of aviation.
“Through our partnership with PHI, we are able to showcase more about the great depth of opportunities our industry has to offer,” Anke said.
“Aviation is an industry that gets in your blood. People often underestimate its impact on the global economy.
“From tourism to the supply chain – it supports a huge number of professions and is a key enabler of many economic activities. The opportunities are massive.”
Seeing a well-developed safety management system that has been rolled out across multiple contracts and locations in action is another aspect Anke says will develop students’ understanding.
“Being at the coalface of a globally successful company like PHI, our students will see first-hand the value PHI offers to its clients and why they keep coming back. They will also get exposure to a highly expert, very diverse workforce from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences.”
Last month PHI welcomed its first student through the partnership, Alisa Izumi, who has joined the business on a three-month placement to support its Safety and Quality team with a project to develop safety cases for three of PHI’s overseas bases while completing her Aviation Management studies.
Alisa said PHI’s culture is one of the first things that struck her, closely followed by the opportunity to build real-world experience in many aspects of her study.
“This is my first experience in a corporate environment and the perfect steppingstone into a career in aviation. It’s given me so much more insight and a bigger picture of the industry.”
The project Alisa is working on has introduced her to bow-tie methodology, which is widely used in the industry to assess risk. “The work I am doing will help ensure the safety management system is in place and the teams have everything they need to prevent incidents occurring.”
PHI will offer internships to Aviation Management students on an ongoing basis from November and plans to open up the same opportunity to Bachelor of Aviation students in the near future.
This press release was jointly prepared and distributed by PHI International and Massey University School of Aviation.
