With its 2017 Commercial Pilot Licence (Helicopter) Scholarship Programme underway, Helicentre have announced the creation of an additional prize fund worth £60,000, consisting of three part-funded Scholarships (worth £10,000 each) and £30,000 of awards to be given to promising applicants in order to enable them to complete their training and further their careers.
Helicentre say that they have taken the “unprecedented” step to add three part-funded Scholarships worth £10,000 each due to an increased industry requirement for helicopter pilots, as well as a growing interest in their CPL(H) Scholarship. Helicentre have also created an additional fund of £30,000 that will be split into awards of £5,000, which will be allocated to those chosen during the selection process.
Head of Training, Captain Sarah Bowen, said: “The standard of this year’s applicants has been so incredibly high we’ve taken the unique decision to create these new part-funded Scholarships and Awards in order to recognise and reward the hard work and determination which has been demonstrated by our applicants.
“The current Scholarship Programme awards just one fully funded CPL(H) Scholarship to one lucky winner; however, due to the shortage of industry pilots and knowing funding is the major career stumbling block for the majority of people, we’ve launched these new Scholarships and Awards in order to create an affordable route to becoming a professional commercial helicopter pilot for an increasing number of people. We’re passionate about investing in the future and creating these extra Scholarship and Awards is one more way we can invest into future flight crews, as well as the industry as a whole.
“When you factor these new Scholarships and Awards on offer with the excellent rates for hour building at our Florida base, as well as the funding available to any student on our one-of-a-kind BSc (Hons) Professional Aviation Pilot Practice (Helicopter) degree, the actual cost of training to become a commercial helicopter pilot is significantly reduced. Our Scholarship Programme was created to meet the ever-growing demand for commercial pilots and flight instructors, and has proven to be the biggest single investment in the future of our industry that we as a company have made. We are extremely proud of the quality of talent we have discovered and developed thanks to our Scholarship Programme and we hope these newly created benefits will only add to that further.”
By the end of the 2017 selection process, Helicentre Aviation’s Scholarship Programme will have awarded in excess of half-a-million-pounds in professional training since its launch in 2012.
Applications are open until 31st December 2017 for the 2018 Scholarship Programme. Prospective applicants can register their interest in the programme, as well as find entry criteria and the online application form, on Helicentre’s dedicated website: www.helicopterscholarships.com