Embraer announced Thursday a program to provide scholarships, grants, and employee volunteer hours to high schools, technical schools, and universities.
The Educational Partnership Program (EPP) is an industry-focused scholarship and internship program that encourages and recruits students to pursue careers in the aviation industry.
The Embraer Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 2017, will fund the program. In the first stages, the EPP will focus on six schools with aviation training programs. Those schools have yet to be named.
Embraer representatives will also visit each school to provide educators with support and serve as advisers to the aviation curriculum. Some students at some campuses, depending on location, will benefit from hands-on training programs and on-site visits to Embraer’s Melbourne, Florida, facility.
Monica Newman McCluney, head of the Embraer Foundation, believes that Embraer has a social responsibility to promote education and safety within the industry.
“As one of the leading companies in the aerospace industry, Embraer is invariably focused on innovation and education,” she said. “Education has always been at the core of our social responsibility initiatives and our new program reinforces that commitment—not only to inspiring youth through aviation, but to developing a high-performing and diverse talent pipeline.
“It is crucial that we make social investments that ensure our ability to attract a diverse workforce. These students are the future of our industry, and we are honored to provide additional resources to help them grow and succeed.”
One of the goals of the partnership program is to provide Embraer the opportunity to hire talented and diverse entry-level graduates, and retain them. The company plans to increase onboarding of students from EPP schools in the coming years to support Embraer’s environmental, social, and governance commitment.
