Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and the Los Angeles Unified School District have announced a new initiative to prepare students from schools across Los Angeles Unified for jobs in the aviation industry. This conversation between LAWA, Los Angeles Unified and the Mayor’s office began last summer in an effort to prepare students for college and career.
“Building a world-class airport requires a remarkable team of people, and finding those people takes strategic partnerships,” said Sean Burton, President, Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners. “This first-of-its-kind partnership with Los Angeles Unified School District connects us to the incredible pipeline of talent that we find in our local public schools, and will give students and adults the information and training they need to start a career at one of our airports.”
“This initiative helps prepare our students for college and career and – in particular – for a broad set of opportunities in businesses which provide services above and below the wing in the airport – ranging from pilots to mechanics to transportation providers to the new transit link being built at the airport,” said Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Austin Beutner. “Together, we will help prepare our students for good paying jobs.”
This new LAX-focused workforce development initiative aims to create a pipeline for Los Angeles Unified students to enter jobs in the aviation, construction, hospitality and transportation industries. Efforts to place youth interns will be coordinated with Mayor Eric Garcetti’s Hire LA’s Youth Program and directly with industry partners.
“The launch of the Aviation Career Pathways Partnership with Los Angeles Unified marks the beginning of something meaningful: an unprecedented opportunity to link hundreds of Los Angeles Unified students with careers in aviation at LAX and Van Nuys Airports,” LAWA Chief Operating Officer Samson Mengistu said. “We need new workers to bring their skills, ideas and drive to our team, and there is no better place to find that talent than in our local Los Angeles public schools.”
LAWA and Los Angeles Unified anticipate that this partnership will help a greater number of local workers find jobs at LAX, while also matching the region’s growing workforce with anticipated demand by airport employers, including civil service jobs with the city of Los Angeles.
For more information, please contact LAWA Business, Jobs, and Social Responsibility director, Amber Meshack [email protected], or associate Superintendent, Hilda Maldonado at [email protected].
