Gunggandji Aerospace urges NRL Cowboys House students to consider aviation careers

Students from NRL Cowboys House in Townsville are being encouraged to soar to new heights with careers in the aviation industry.

NRL Cowboys House students Tshak Daniels-Misi (Year 11) and Irene Mari (Year 12), both from Thursday Island, who attend William Ross State High School and Heatley Secondary College respectively. The Townsville students had the opportunity to witness a helicopter take-off, meet program organisers, sponsors and industry representatives and take part in aviation themed activities to officially launch the Raising Horizons program spearheaded by Gunggandji Aerospace. Picture: Josephine Carter Photography

Students from NRL Cowboys House in Townsville are being encouraged to soar to new heights with careers in the aviation industry.

The students will be part of the first cohort of the Raising Horizons program spearheaded by Gunggandji Aerospace.

Daniel Joinbee, managing director of Australia’s first and only 100 per cent Aboriginal-owned aerospace consulting company, said the program aimed to empower Indigenous youth, in particular young women, to pursue aviation careers.

“This program is about exposing the students to aviation careers that exist beyond being a pilot,” he said.

“Think aerodrome management, aviation engineering, air-traffic control, operations and strategy or ground services, there are so many different career pathways.”

Gunggandji Aerospace managing director Daniel Joinbee and Kunjurra Yeatman-Noble, a Year 12 student at Kirwan State High School who is originally from Yarrabah. Gunggandji Aerospace is a 100 per cent Aboriginal and veteran-owned aerospace company. NRL Cowboys House is a culturally safe boarding house that provides a home-away-from-home for over 100 young people from some of Australia’s most remote communities, enabling them to attend secondary school in Townsville. Picture: Josephine Carter Photography

Mr Joinbee said that in addition to providing practical experiences and industry engagement opportunities, Raising Horizons was about establishing sustainable pathways for Indigenous youth in the future.

“We also want to engage and collaborate with aviation industry members to raise awareness of the opportunities available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees, build their understanding of alternative pathways to employment, and increase their commitment to hiring Indigenous people, especially women.”

Kunjurra Yeatman-Noble, a Year 12 student at Kirwan State High School who hails from Yarrabah and is boarding in Townsville at NRL Cowboys House. Picture: Josephine Carter Photography

Supported by Regional Express Airlines and Aviation Australia, the program will be rolled out from early 2025.

Cowboys Community Foundation CEO Fiona Pelling said career transition was a key part of the students’ journeys at NRL Cowboys House, a boarding house for more than 100 young people from remote communities.

“Most of our students would not have even considered a future in aviation and this program will open their eyes to some wonderful opportunities they might otherwise have never known existed.”

Raising Horizons is funded by the Australian government through its Women in Aviation program.

The program is supported by Townsville Helicopters, State Emergency Services, Royal Flying Doctor Service, the Royal Australian Air Force, Toll Aviation, Jet Zero Australia and Airbus.

Originally published as Gunggandji Aerospace urges NRL Cowboys House students to consider aviation careers