Porter Airlines Partners with Algonquin College to Introduce New Scholarship and Award

Porter Airlines is helping students via a new partnership with Algonquin College that will create a new scholarship and an award for the Aircraft Maintenance Technician program.

The airline has committed $25,000 to establish The Porter Airlines Scholarship for Aircraft Maintenance Technicians and The Porter Airlines Award for Aircraft Maintenance Technicians. Combined, these initiatives will support 10 second-year AMT students each year, providing financial assistance, celebrating academic success, and accelerating careers.

This collaboration is the result of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Porter and Algonquin College signed in May 2024, when Porter inaugurated its aircraft maintenance base at Ottawa International Airport.  The partnership is expected to continue to grow in coming years.

“The MOU signed last year laid a solid foundation for the great work our institutions are doing together,” said Mark Savenkoff, Algonquin College’s Vice President, Advancement and Strategy. “Our partnership is great news for our learners. They will be equipped with the skills, knowledge, and unmatched hands-on experience they need to succeed as the next generation of aviation professionals. It’s fair to say that this partnership is generating a great deal of excitement in our community.”   

Porter is also committed to supporting students who identify as women, newcomers to Canada, single parents, Indigenous, and members of underrepresented communities. Porter launched an initiative that offers airfare vouchers to Indigenous learners from any academic program at Algonquin College who may be experiencing emergencies. Covering the full cost of a round-trip airfare from Ottawa to wherever Porter flies, these vouchers help Indigenous learners stay connected to their families and communities during challenging times. 

Lawrence Hughes, Porter’s Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, echoes this enthusiasm: “Porter’s presence in Ottawa has grown substantially in recent years and we expect this momentum to continue.

As our operations expand, we remain committed to investing in impactful initiatives that help Algonquin College students launch promising careers in the aviation industry.”