Students Complete L.B. Airport Externship

During the summer recess, 13 students from Cabrillo and Jordan high schools participated in a new externship program hosted by the Long Beach Airport (LGB), introducing them to career opportunities in aviation.

The inaugural Careers Taking Flight Externship Program took students behind the scenes as they learned about job duties and required pay and credentials for more than a dozen careers working for airports, airlines, the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration and the business aviation sector. 

Participating Long Beach Unified School District students — selected in partnership with the District from more than 60 applicants — received a $500 incentive payment and were offered a free exploration flight on the final day of the 40-hour, five-day program.

“Long Beach Airport has created a unique, hands-on, paid summer externship program that provides LBUSD students the opportunity to explore an array of careers in aviation,” shared LBUSD Business Engagements and Strategic Partnerships Administrator Michelle Thomassian. “We are beyond grateful to the Airport for taking such a collaborative and student-centered approach to workforce development. The LBUSD business partner community is instrumental in empowering and preparing our brilliant students to get their dreams off the ground.”   

The summer externship marked the start of a newly established Long Beach Airport Careers Taking Flight program, a suite of programming designed to provide students from grade school to college with different opportunities to gain a basic understanding of career opportunities within the aviation world as well as general knowledge about LGB and its industry partners. Beyond the externship program, future programs will include a paid summer internship for high school students, anticipated to launch in the summer of 2024.