The second leg of the 2023 Careers in Aviation Expo program, organized by Wings and Helicopters, took place on October 24, 2023, in Calgary, Alberta. The first leg of the program took place in May of this year in one of WestJet’s maintenance hangars at Toronto Pearson International Airport, with more than 500 people in attendance.
Despite taking place during the area’s first major winter storm, the Calgary careers expo drew more than 225 pre-registrations and saw over 340 people at The Best Western Premier Calgary Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre, including a vast majority of young professionals looking for information on career development or change. The day featured more than 60 exhibitors for attendees to visit, as well as a series of individual mock interviews in the morning and group mentoring sessions in the afternoon. Helping out with the aviation interviews and mentoring sessions were leaders from Porter Airlines, CAE and Flair Airlines.
The Careers in Aviation Expo in Calgary was collocated with the long-running Emergency Career Expo, which is led by policing, fire and security media properties controlled by the same parent company that oversees Wings and Helicopters, Annex Business Media, which holds more than 65 industry focused brands. The joint careers event took place at the Best Western Premier Calgary Plaza Hotel and Conference Centre.
Support for the Calgary event was provided by Platinum sponsors Commissionaires and Porter Airlines; Gold sponsor Lakeland College; Silver sponsors CAE and Diamond Aircraft; Thought Leadership sponsor Alpine Helicopters; and special event sponsors Alberta Aviation Council, Edmonton Police Service and NicheRMS365 in addition to industry partner, Calgary Police Service.
This was the first time that the Emergency Career Expo took place outside of Ontario, while organizers of the Careers in Aviation Expo for many years has held both an Ontario and Western Canada event each year.
