How do you win the Pauwels Flying Scholarship?

How do you win the Pauwels Flying Scholarship? Good Question. read this post to find out what the assessment process entails. We can’t recommend enough that you prepare to present yourself as the perfect candidate worthy of being awarded the Flying Scholarship.

There are a several flying scholarships in New Zealand and the Pauwels Flying Scholarship is the most valuable in terms of flight hours, theory and ongoing mentoring. So, if you apply for the Special Award, or apply for the original award available through Hillmorton High School, you might want to know in advance what to expect from the assessment phases which you will pass through before being considered to be a recipient of one of the Scholarships.

For this blog, we’ll assume you have either been shortlisted for the Hillmorton pathway or for the Special Award pathway, and we have contacted you to begin the assessment phases.

 The first phase is getting to know you, and this is by way of an informal fireside chat with two current Air New Zealand pilots. I asked Captain David Griffin and First Officer Ben King to pass on their thoughts as to what they are looking for in a candidate and how that will gather that information during the chat.

Captain David Griffin

I’m honoured to be able to contribute to the Pauwels Flying Scholarship. I enjoy getting to meet and get to know some fine young people. To potentially to be a mentor, motivator to these enthusiastic young pilots.

The fireside chat is part of a robust process to identify truly passionate enthusiastic young people, at the beginning of their potential as aviators.

We check their understanding of how training and entry into the career might work out, if they have considered the risk of failure, and do they have a plan b?

We’re looking for well grounded, motivated individuals, who are prepared to work hard both academically and to develop essential life skills. Work ethic and communication skills are critical, and we prefer the candidates to find customer facing roles, such as fast food outlets, hospitality, retail etc and we see many of these roles and candidates at the airport.

First Officer Ben King

As a Pauwels flying scholarship interviewer we take great pride in meeting students who have an absolute passion for flying and Aviation. After initially receiving background details of a candidate through an application process or CV we structure an interview in a way that ideally gets the candidate talking and relaxed.

This interview is loosely based on an airline style format however pitched at a level appropriate to limited aviation background. We like hearing about aviation activities they have been involved in and research they have carried out on how to become a pilot or goals they have in Aviation.

We are also interested in their focus around what they are currently studying. Attributes they project around leadership and teamwork are important as these are most important for the flight deck, and indeed the entire crew of the aircraft, to work in harmony

Of the Scholarships available in New Zealand, the Pauwels Flying Scholarship has been developed and enhanced to include multiple steps that really captures a candidate’s enthusiasm and skills.

If you pass this step, you will then be asked to complete an ADAPT test online. The Scholarship will pay for this as it is a critical part of the assessment process. Here’s a little bit of information about it.

ADAPT is the sophisticated online assessment provided by ServiceIQ. It's a solution for flight training schools to meet the pre-test requirement for people wanting to achieve the New Zealand Diplomas in Aviation (Aeroplane and Helicopter).

I found a Youtube video which gives a quick overview. You can watch it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQtRyjw_T_A&ab_channel=ADAPTbySymbiotics

Once we have those results and found them to our satisfaction, you will be offered to move to the formal part of the assessment process. You will go to one of our aviation training organisations nearest you for a formal interview, an exam and other forms of assessment. Here is what the International Aviation Academy of New Zealand do for our Canterbury candidates.

 Adrienne Dempsey, IAANZ

Our application form asks for preliminary information on the applicant's education background and their interest and experience in aviation. The applicant's passion for aviation is probably one of the key things we are looking for at this stage.

 Then there are a series of stages within the selection process, the first step of which is an interview, with at least one instructor on the panel. Qualities we are looking for include maturity and a self-starter attitude - those candidates who have done their homework and researched the skills needed to be a pilot do stand out. We also consider their potential to work within a team, their leadership potential, analytical skills, and self-awareness.

 Candidates who perform well in this stage may be progressed to the next stage, which includes the SIM and written test. 

 Once we have all the results in, John Pauwels will make the final decision as to whether the candidate is a good recipient for the award. If so, he will contact the recipient and offer them the scholarship.

 It’s important to know that receiving the Flying Scholarship is always conditional on the recipient being able to get a Class 1 aviation medical. This medical allows the holder to be able to fly commercially.

I think it is fair to say that all phases of the assessment process are looking for an excellent attitude to life and a pleasant way of communicating with others. We want to see that you are motivated, a self-starter and has a significant ability to demonstrate self-control in all situations. Naturally we are all looking to find that passion for aviation and which is accompanied by a good aptitude to be able to actually fly an aircraft.

 So, are you in? Are you ready to give the Flying Scholarship a go? Download the Application Form from the Scholarship page and give it your best shot. Good Luck!

 Enjoy the rest of your day.