THESE young female students are off to a ‘flying start’ to their futures after enjoying a visit to an airport engineering facility.

Sixteen girls from St Columba’s High School in Gourock and Inverclyde Academy in Greenock enjoyed a tour of the British Airways Maintenance hangar (BAMG) at Glasgow Airport.

It was arranged as part of a drive to encourage more women into the profession.

Female engineers and technicians at BAMG explained to the pupils about the work carried out at the hangar.

The students got the opportunity to see at first hand the skills required to complete the complex programme of work maintaining British Airways’ fleet of narrow-bodied short-haul aircraft.

The visit, to celebrate International Women’s Day, was organised through the Developing the Young Workforce programme and West College Scotland.

It aims to encourage more young women to apply for modern apprenticeships in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors.

Elaine Lawson of BAMG said: “We are delighted to be part of this innovative project to try to encourage more young women in the STEM sector.

“We have been running a highly successful modern apprenticeship programme to recruit talented young people to train as aircraft technicians and engineers in the skills specifically required by our Scottish-based operation.

“Like other employers in the sector, we are extremely keen in attracting more young women into these sectors, which are not only important to the local and Scottish economies, but are vital in keeping Scotland and the UK, and our young people, at the forefront of global technological initiatives and development.

“The feedback from the all the pupils who took part in the tour was that the visit to the hangar was the best trip they have ever had.”