Military looks to Kelowna students to fill aircraft technician jobs

The fighter jets may have been the attraction, but the Royal Canadian Air Force came to Kelowna Wednesday with a much bigger goal: finding young people willing to build careers keeping those aircraft in the air.

Recruiters set up at Okanagan College’s Kelowna Aerospace Campus, speaking with students studying aircraft maintenance and other trades about opportunities in the military.

The recruitment push comes as the Air Force works to bring more technicians into its ranks. The military says demand is increasing as new aircraft are added to its fleet.

For students, joining the military can come with some significant advantages.

The Air Force offers paid education for certain technician programs, and military students can receive a salary and other benefits while completing their training. The military also offers opportunities to work on a wide range of aircraft and potentially move around the country.

Student Cameron Pacio said guaranteed employment and the chance to work on different aircraft are among the biggest draws.

But military service also means giving up some control over where and how you live.

Student Ben Greenaway said someone who wants more control over their life outside of work may choose the civilian route instead.

Whether they choose the military or civilian route, the need is the same: Canada needs more skilled tradespeople.

For students, that means there are opportunities on both sides — and for the country, getting more young people into the trades is the ultimate goal.

Only 13 per cent of high school students say they plan to work in the skilled trades, while about one-third say they might consider it, according to a federal study of Canadian youth.

The concern is not simply a lack of interest. The Government of Canada projects more than 593,000 job openings in Red Seal trade-related occupations between 2024 and 2033, largely because of retirements and employment growth.

The federal government is now putting billions of dollars behind efforts to attract more people.

Its Team Canada Strong initiative includes $2 billion for paid, job-ready placements that can lead directly into registered apprenticeships. The government is also investing $250 million over five years to expand skilled-trades training capacity through the Canadian Armed Forces.

But money and job opportunities do not necessarily translate into interest.

Federal research found that students often learn about trades through family members, people already working in the trades and school experiences. It also found that speaking with someone working in the trades or visiting a worksite can influence students’ interest.

That may be what happened in Kelowna.

Thomas Dachliak, an electrical student, said he had not considered aviation before today.

“I didn’t until today,” he said. “It seemed kind of interesting.”

And that may be the bigger recruitment challenge: not convincing young people that there are jobs in the trades, but getting them interested enough to consider those jobs in the first place.