International Civil Aviation Day 2022
Every year, December 7th marks International Civil Aviation Day.
Since 2018, Babcock Canada has been providing the province of Manitoba with wildfire suppression services. Our teams of Aircrew Maintenance Engineers (AMEs) and dedicated support staff in Manitoba are always hard at work supporting the efforts to combat wildfires and helping protect people, communities, and resources across the province.
To mark International Civil Aviation Day, we sat down with Supreet Singh Garcha, one of Babcock’s talented AMEs, to discuss his career and journey within the civil aviation sector.
Q. What is civil aviation?
A. Civil Aviation includes all aircrafts and airplanes that are being operated in the civil sector rather than for military use. For example: passenger planes, business, or private planes, etc.
Q. Can you describe your current role within Babcock?
A. I currently work as an M1 Aircraft Maintenance Engineer at Babcock and I am working towards obtaining my M2 license.
Q. What is your academic and professional background?
A. I received my AME diploma from my home country. When I came to Canada, I enrolled myself into an AME program at Red River College where I began my Canadian aviation journey with Wings Over Kississing. I obtained my M1 License in 2015.
I have played many roles at Wings over Kississing, including AME, Crew Chief, and Production Manager.
I started at Babcock in the beginning of 2022 as a contractor and now work as an AME.
Q. What inspired you to pursue a career in civil aviation?
A. My dad was one of my inspirations to work in civil aviation. As well, an article that I read in the newspaper while in high school about being an AME.
Q. What does a typical day on the job look like for you?
A. Our team starts the day with a pre-shift meeting led by our crew chief. We discuss what we are going to do, fill out a ‘Point Of Work and Safety Assessment’, and overview all the safety hazards and how to address them. We are then assigned a task by our crew chief and get into action. Sometimes you work by yourself and sometimes in a team. It depends on the task requirement.
Q. What are some of the biggest challenges presented in civil aviation?
A. As per my experience and knowledge, the biggest challenges in civil aviation I have faced are shiftwork and travelling which causes less family time. There can also be a lot of pressure to get the airplane flight ready.
Q. What do you enjoy most about civil aviation?
A. This is a multi-skill trade where you are always learning something new. Every day you face different challenges and tasks, so no day is the same. It’s a lot of fun.
Q. What advice do you have for someone interested in pursuing a career in civil aviation?
A. It is a pretty good trade. It is challenging not only physically but also mentally as we need to know how to operate many systems and troubleshoot problems. You are always learning something new every time.
Thank you to Supreet and to all of our Babcock family within the civil aviation sector for your hard work and dedication!
To learn more about Babcock in the aviation sector, visit: Aviation | Babcock Canada
