IE event to provide youths with insights on aviation careers

Inland Empire youths with an eye to the sky for their future are being invited to a two-day symposium next week at San Bernardino International Airport, where airline recruiters and others will speak on commercial flying jobs, technical positions and related opportunities in high demand.

Students from schools in the Riverside metropolitan area and surrounding locations are slated to participate in the symposium, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday and Monday in the airport terminal complex, 275 N. Leland Norton Way.

Castle Rock, Colorado-based Shades of Blue is hosting the event, which is one of a series throughout the nation that the nonprofit has planned, organizers said.

“According to airline industry projections, in the next 25 years, there will be a worldwide shortage of aviation professionals,” according to a statement by the nonprofit. “At the present rate, airlines will need to hire an average 14,500 new pilots (internationally) each year until 2030 to eliminate the shortage. America produces between 5,000 and 7,000 pilots annually.”

“Shades of Blue’s goal is to help fulfill the current and future airline employee shortages, thus creating a sustainable flow of qualified candidates into the employee pipeline,” according to the group.

Among those scheduled to speak at the event are representatives from Delta Airlines, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, Los Angeles World Airports, Texas Instruments and the Barboza Space Center.

There will be flight simulators available, as well as drone and robotic demos.

In Riverside County, flight schools and clubs are located at Corona, French Valley, Hemet-Ryan and Riverside airports.

Cal Baptist University in Riverside operates a Department of Aviation Science, dedicated to full-time pilot training, with a flight operations center at Riverside Municipal Airport, where the school also keeps a retired Boeing 727 on display.

More information about the Shades of Blue event is available from the organization’s founder, former United Airlines Capt. Willie Daniels, who can be reached via email at thecaptain@ourshadesofblue.org.