Hands on tools, head in game
With their hands on the tools and their head in the game, 40 girls are in the thick of it at hakea air base.
Year 13 schoolgirls from across the country are participating in the Defence Force programme School to Skies.
Yesterday, they were hard at work at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s
hakea base for an authentic taste of military work and life.
For the past week the girls have undertaken different tasks relating to STEM subjects aimed at encouraging women to consider air force careers.
Whether it’s rebuilding agrumman plane, wiring up circuits, working in the maintenance bays or servicing vehicles, the young women were taking every challenge in their stride.
At 3 Squadron, Holly Inglis, 17, was fitting awheel onto a Grumman alongside Alexis Usal, 17, and Flight Sergeant Brendon Pugh.
The four flights, made up of 10 girls each, had been rebuilding the plane from scratch since Monday.
Inglis had some experience with tools, working with her family in the garage at home, but never on a plane.
Knowing she is leaving school at the end of this year, she has been weighing up her options at university. Over the course of the week-long School to Skies experience, a pilot or a loadmaster seemed like a good fit.
‘‘I’m passionate about STEM, and I’ve always had an interest in engineering, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it. I gave this a go and I’ve loved every minute of it, every second has been interesting.’’
Leading Aircraftman Shannon Crene, 23, was helping Inglis and her group get a handle on the Grumman rebuild.
She watched as they grew more comfortable around the aircraft, leading to excitement, curiosity and confidence in their work.
‘‘It’s really cool to see the girlswho haven’t touched tools before getting really involved and getting really excited about it.
‘‘I went through school not having the opportunities to do a technical trade subject. There’s been amassive stereotype on girls that they shouldn’t be in a trade, but if you’re interested in it and you’ve got passion, just go for it because there’s a lot of women who are really talented in this field.’’
Flight Lieutenant Emmaraven was impressed with how well the young women had taken on the trades and the lifestyle of the air force.
‘‘A lot of these girls are feeling intense pressure to know what they want to do and choose university pathways, so it’s been nice to validate the Defence Force.
‘‘It’s Okto not know what you’re doing right now. Move into something you’re passionate about.’’