Regional Cargo Carriers Announce Scholarship Programs

Applications are now open for the Regional Air Cargo Carriers Association (RACCA) scholarship program designed to help aspiring pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians (AMT) and airline managers to pursue their careers.

“Despite the pandemic, accelerated retirements will mean workforce shortages will return and become more acute when the industry recovers," said RACCA President Stan Bernstein. "This is not the time to stop your education and we need to ensure funding is available to help students overcome the barriers associated with the high cost of an aviation education. In recent years, we have helped students pursue AMT, airline management and pilot careers. Ensuring funding is available is an important part of the RACCA mission.”

The RACCA Aviation Scholarships were established for the purpose of promoting and assisting in pursuing aviation as a career choice and to make students aware of the opportunities in the air cargo industry. RACCA, representing 50 air cargo carriers, many of which feed the FedEx, DHL and UPS networks, provides scholarships to assist in the payment of tuition, flight training, or to obtain new or additional licenses. The organization makes four awards each year in November.

To qualify for the scholarships, applicants must be:

• A college student currently enrolled in an accredited aviation program.
• A resident of the United States.
• Currently carry a Grade Point Average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.

Scholarship # 1 will carry the additional requirement of obtaining a letter of introduction from an existing RACCA member or RACCA associate member since the goal is for candidates to learn about the air cargo industry. If there is a RACCA member or associate member in a candidate’s immediate area, candidates should arrange to visit their operation and become familiar with all the opportunities in the growing air cargo industry. If there is no member close, candidates should call a member and tell them who they are and ask questions about the air cargo industry.

The deadline for applications is October 15, 2019 and the selection will be made by November 30 and distributed on December 15 to an accredited school.

The RACCA Aviation Scholarship application is available on the RACCA website at ​www.raccaonline.org/scholarship/.