Terry Young (Longman, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] Recently I was invited to the St Columban's College campus in Caboolture for a tour of its biggest project to date. Since February, 18 students have worked with mentors from Flight Youth Engineering to build a certified two-seat Van's RV-12 training aircraft from the ground up. That's right: 18 high school students are building an actual plane that will really fly. St Columban's is the first school in Australia to implement this program. Once completed, the aircraft will be sold, with the funds enabling another build. It is expected that, by the third aircraft, the program will be financially self-sufficient.

The primary outcomes of this project are threefold: to improve education and employment outcomes for youth; to contribute to meeting industry skills shortages in STEM; and to provide access to aircraft for rural communities. This initiative engages our youth directly with industry, developing work-ready skills and greater employment outcomes for participants. There is predicted to be high demand for both aviation engineering and piloting jobs, with many in the industry due to retire shortly, and this initiative will contribute to meeting this demand.

St Columban's plans to share its experience from this program with other schools across Australia so more schools can deliver this much-needed program. The school has raised $50,000 for the program and is seeking further financial support from the business community to purchase the engine and electronics. I would like to thank Flight Youth Engineering, St Columban's College principal Mike Connolly and the college for supporting these students on their journey.