NORWICH – Over 600 people gathered at the Lt. Warren Eaton Airport in Norwich for the 2018 Aviation Career Exploration Event hosted by DCMO BOCES on Friday.

The event, sponsored by GE Aviation, provided opportunities for 289 middle and high school students in the region to learn about careers connected to the aviation field.

GE Aviation Norwich Lead, Dan Ketchum commented, “GE Aviation is proud to sponsor and support an event like this in our community. Our industry has seen incredible growth over the past few years, and it is expected to continue.”

A partnership between DCMO BOCES and the Chenango Industrial Development Agency, as well as funding from the Greater Norwich Foundation made the facility accommodations possible.

“We were prepared to host approximately 100 people. However, the demand was much greater and turning away students was not an option. So we reached out to our community partners and they stepped forward to support our future workforce development efforts,” said Martha Ryan, the DCMO BOCES staff member coordinating the event.

The full-day event connected aviation industry leaders with students to assess their skills and to explore future job opportunities in the field of aviation. According to Ryan, “It felt like an aviation festival with drones flying, helicopters landing, vintage and modern planes on exhibit, and much more.”