March 4, 2024
Garmin isn’t any stranger to the world of aviation. We create merchandise that assist make flying safer, simpler and easier. Our associates need everybody to expertise the sensation of hovering by the sky with breathtakingly lovely views — and we wish them to really feel protected whereas doing it.
We additionally hope to make careers within the aviation business and studying to fly much less intimidating and extra accessible for our prospects and associates — particularly girls. It’s no secret that the aviation business is comprised predominantly of males. At the moment in North America lower than 5% of pilots are girls, however Garmin is working to alter that.
“How?” you may ask. We’ll begin with our associates. We need to share our ardour for taking to the blue skies with anybody keen to leap in — or takeoff, if you’ll. Garmin hosts Flight Sim First Fridays, a day when associates are inspired to make the most of Garmin’s flight simulator to broaden their data and expertise of flying with Garmin avionics.
Need to go even deeper? Garmin gives its very personal floor faculty for gratis to Olathe-based associates. Whether or not you need to go on to study to fly or simply need to get some extra data about aviation, our very personal girl in aviation, Jessica Koss, is there to assist. Koss has been instructing floor faculty and sharing her ardour for aviation with Garmin associates since 2017.
“I’ve had the pleasure of instructing non-public pilot floor faculty at Garmin for over seven years,” says Koss, a workforce chief in Garmin’s company flight division. “It’s thrilling when associates take the category and are not sure in the event that they’re taken with changing into a pilot, solely to later take classes, get their license, and pursue extra superior scores and licenses. I’m at all times reminded how impactful one class might be; it’s all about taking that first step.”
Along with floor faculty, Garmin gives a partial reimbursement program for associates who need to earn their pilot’s license. The price of renting an airplane, gas, hiring an authorized flight teacher (CFI) and extra is unquestionably an funding, and that’s why Garmin works with native flight faculties to make it a bit of simpler to attain that closing “checkride” feeling.
Since 2020, Koss has taught greater than 200 associates with shut to twenty% being girls seeking to study extra about aviation. Many have chosen to earn their pilot’s license after taking Koss’ class, and one went all the way in which to incomes her business pilot’s license. Koss’ affect can’t be measured in numbers, although. Her ardour for aviation runs deep and is seen and skilled by everybody round her, together with Isabell Grisnik, an aviation affiliate gross sales supervisor.
“Once I began at Garmin, I used to be doing college recruiting — a job utterly unrelated to our aviation phase,” Grisnik mentioned. “Throughout a brand new affiliate orientation, I first heard about Garmin’s flight advantages, and it sparked my curiosity. Later, Garmin celebrated Ladies of Aviation Week, and a feminine Garmin aviation engineer joined me at a neighborhood faculty to current engineering profession alternatives for ladies to college students. After that day, I began to consider the probabilities of me studying to fly and if it was even possible.”
Grisnik met with different girls at Garmin, together with Koss, and realized she wished to pursue a profession in aviation. She took Garmin’s floor faculty, went on to get her non-public pilot’s license and is at the moment engaged on her instrument score.
“Whereas flying, I discovered about Garmin’s aviation merchandise and realized how superb they had been and thought ‘I may promote these,’” Grisnik mentioned. “I joined the aviation gross sales workforce, and the remaining is historical past. I used to be in a position to do all of this due to the alternatives Garmin supplied. They made it so accessible for me.”
Along with sharing our ardour with our associates, we need to do the identical for our group. Garmin celebrates Ladies of Aviation Week each March, hoping to encourage extra younger girls to need to fly or work within the aviation business, similar to Grisnik. All through the week, Garmin will host younger women at our hangar to see what it’s prefer to fly in a small airplane. Associates will go to native faculties to show college students about aviation and do a enjoyable exercise, and college students on discipline journeys will go to to Garmin headquarters for excursions and a real-life look into how avionics are made.
“It’s so necessary for young women to be uncovered to a wide range of careers in aviation, and Garmin provides them that chance,” Koss mentioned. “From being a pilot to having a profession in plane upkeep, engineering or air visitors management, these younger girls have an opportunity to expertise how enjoyable and rewarding a profession in aviation might be. Once I take these women flying, it’s typically their first time in a small airplane, and after I ask, ‘Do you need to take the controls?’, their faces instantly mild up. These experiences are so necessary for the way forward for aviation, and I’m grateful that Garmin and so many different organizations worth the promotion and development of ladies on this business.”