Europe

• 730 Middle school students have been part of the Flying Challenge since its launch in 2012.
• 701 Airbus volunteers have been involved in the programme since 2012.
  
• 130 University Students took part in the programme since 2012.
  

In Toulouse, the Foundation works with United Way L'Alliance. Students come from 22 different schools and all participate to three key events:
Launch (November)
Careers fair (March)
Closing event (May)

Depending on the school level, there are two different formats:

Collective mentoring for the first year of the programme, including workshops, lunches at school for the mentors and mentees, a careers fair and meetings between parents and mentors.
Individual mentoring for the following years, comprising workshops and meetings outside school focused on cultural experiences, and educational and professional guidance.

• 54 Middle and high school students have been involved in the Télémaque programme since 2016.
• 56 Airbus volunteers have been involved in the programme since 2016.
  
• 2 Schools have been part of the programme since 2016.
  

In Toulouse, the Télémaque programme focuses on students from disadvantageous backgrounds and who have been identify as very engaged in school. They are given a grant that they can use with their mentors for cultural activities like museums, theatre, job fairs, etc. They are also encouraged to think and establish a career plan with their mentor. 

In Spain, the Flying Challenge boosts success at school and acts as a trigger for later successes in life and work.

With the support of Airbus volunteers and the Spanish Red Cross, the company works with school children when they need help most: before taking career choices that could determine what they become in the future. The Challenge works in three main areas:

Advancing entrepreneurship in each student as a tool to develop their capacities to work in groups, design initiatives, manage resources, increase their empathy, overcome challenges and seek support.
Exposing students to all their career choices so that they find the path that best suits them to continue their studies.
Identifying their true vocation so that they invest their efforts in a fulfilling career.

The project takes students on a journey, helping them identify how they can contribute to their environment with their current skills and those that they can train and acquire through education. Airbus volunteers, with the support of trained professionals, offer weekly mentoring in the classroom, group work and a range of other extra-curricular activities.
 

• 2422 Middle and high school students have benefited from the Flying Challenge since its launch in 2013.
• 398 Airbus employees have been involved in the programme since 2013.
  
• 7 Airbus sites are now participating in the Flying Challenge in Spain.
  

In Getafe, students and their families learn to plan their future through a life plan that helps them envision where they want to be in the future and the path that will take them there.

Through various workshops and exchanges, students learn about their training and employment options, as well as their own capacities and capabilities, so they can identify their true potential and learn what they need to do to fulfil their dreams.

Mentoring takes place throughout the year, and three yearly activities showcase the project's aims and successes:

Launch (November)
Careers fair (March)
Closing event (April/May)
 

In Puerto Real, Airbus volunteers help students to identify, plan, and execute a social entrepreneurship initiative in their community.

Social entrepreneurship acts as a vehicle to advance useful skills for the job market such as research, planning, team work and asset management. Through weekly contact with the Airbus volunteers, students also learn more about a real working environment and what it takes to be employed.

Mentoring takes place throughout the year, and three yearly activities showcase the projects aims and successes:

Launch (November)
Careers fair (March)
Closing event (April/May, depending on school levels)

The Flying Challenge was launched in Germany in 2016. Like in other countries, the programme aims at fostering integration and provide access to experience and opportunities to students, regardless of their background.

University students, high school students and employees form a mentoring trio, in which the content is tailored to the needs and wishes of the mentee. Mentors act as role models and help tackle potential issues such as low self-esteem, while giving them insights on the different career paths they could take.

• 215 Middle and high school students have benefited part of the Flying Challenge since 2016.
• 107 Airbus employees have volunteered for the programme.
  
• 4 Airbus sites are part of the initiative in Germany.
  

Over a 8-months period, Airbus mentors meet regularly with their mentees, exchanging on their daily life and their future opportunities, supporting and inspiring them to further continue their education. The three main highlights of the year are the Kick-off Day, where mentor and mentees meet and learn more about each other, the Career Fair, where students are able to meet with other Airbus employees and learn about all the different jobs at Airbus and finally, the Flying Day, where they are able to experience - many for the first time - the thrill of flight.

The Airbus Foundation Explorers Centre, launched in October 2018, introduces children to the exciting world of aerospace. It is a unique education centre in Germany that teaches coding, science, mathematics and engineering skills to local children ages 6-12.

With the Airbus Foundation Explorers Centre, children are inspired to expand their technical and scientific skills in weekly workshops by learning topics such as:

•      Fascinating facts about aerospace

•      How to programme a robot

•      Construction and programming of a digital space rocket that flies to the International Space Station.

Airbus employee volunteers and teachers from Digitalwerkstatt, a local non-profit that delivers youth science curriculum, share their passion for science and seek to inspire the next generation of aerospace stars.

The Explorers Centre curriculum is connected to the content of the Airbus Foundation Discovery Space, a platform readily already available on the web for children around the world. Young people can learn how to design rockets, planes and space equipment. Learn more on the Discover Space website. 

Launched in 2016, the award-winning UK Flying Challenge programme is currently running successfully at Filton in Bristol and Broughton, North Wales.  Working with specialist NGO partners, it has been designed to include specificities aligned to the requirements of the UK, while following the global mission of the programme.

Participants follows a structured, engaging and hands-on mix of activities which runs throughout the academic year, including mentoring by Airbus employees and local University students, including:

A series of ten weekly workshops learning about flight, aircraft past and future, inspiring talks, visits to various facilities and other engaging interactive sessions such as the Airbus Foundation Little Engineer programme and the Airbus Foundation Discovery Space digital platform.   

A four day intensive programme designed to enable students to learn more about the breadth of career opportunities in the aviation industry.

A second series of week of ten hands-on sessions to support the build of a model aircraft, working in collaboration with Airbus employees and additional University student teams. 

A flying lesson where every student got the chance to fly an aircraft.

By the time the students graduate from the Flying Challenge, participants will have undertaken a wide range of specialist experiences, worked with committed employee mentors, completed a skills portfolio, worked towards a nationally recognised qualification (level II in Basic Skills) and an Industrial Cadets Gold Award. The aim is for them to develop confidence, self-esteem and a belief in themselves that will motivate them to continue with, and succeed in their education.   In addition, all employee mentors receive a recognised mentoring qualification.

The programme also supports Airbus’ contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – SDG17, Partnerships for the Goals and SDG4, Quality Education.

• 20 13/14 year old students take part in each programme, mentored by ten Airbus employees.
• 127 students have benefited from the Flying Challenge since its launch in 2016.
• 98 Airbus employees have been involved in the programme since 2016.