The nine pilots who finished ground school were chosen out of more than 100 applicants. (David Stobbe / Stobbe Photo)

By Derek Cornet

ground school

Nine northerners one step closer to becoming pilots

Apr 1, 2025 | 4:47 PM

A group of nine northern residents are one step closer to obtaining their commercial pilots license and gaining employment with Rise Air.

A ceremony was held Friday in Saskatoon to celebrate their completion of ground school, a key milestone for the students in the Dziret’ái Pilot Training Program launched in September 2024. The program is an initiative created to help empower Indigenous residents and women in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin.

In total, 105 people applied of which 15 students were accepted into the Elevated Skills portion. From there, 12 went on to take pilot training and nine successfully finished ground school.

“They have been flying for a little while with instructors and one-by-one they have been graduating to that next stage, which is flying solo,” said Rise Air director of marketing and stakeholder relations Dan Gold.

“The experience they have all been sharing has been truly incredible. Those who have never imagined they would ever fly an aircraft and those who have always dreamed about doing it, and finally get up there, take off on the runway, were flying, landed safely and then got out and went ‘I did that.’”

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The Elevated Skills Program occurred at the Saskatoon International Airport through a partnership with First Nations University of Canada, Flex ED and Foundations Learning. Students were able to do all of the training free of charge through funding by Cameco, SSR Mining, Orano, Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan, Ya’thi Néné, Prince Albert Grand Council, Northlands College and Rise Air.

The celebration was held March 28 at Rise Air Hangar 3 in Saskatoon. (David Stobbe / Stobbe Photo)

From now until June 2026, the students will work to receive their private and commercial pilot licenses.

“The next steps really are for the students to start building their hours and building the scenario training for certain situations that would arise,” Gold explained.

“They did a lot of theory and now it is a lot more of the practical. They will start doing cross-country flights, which means they don’t just fly around Saskatoon, they will actually go to other destinations on longer runs to really get that experience of what it’s like with more realistic flights rather than taking off, doing a couple of circuits and landing. This is the situation of real life flying where you fly for a period of time. You might experience different weather potentially.”

The program not only opens doors for Indigenous pilots but also addresses the critical pilot shortage affecting industries across Northern Saskatchewan, particularly mining operations that rely heavily on air transportation.

Lac La Ronge Indian Band member Reina Roberts was one of the students who were honoured last week. Even though she was financially secure with a career at a northern mine site, she said she wanted more in life and decided to apply.

Roberts noted learning aviation has been like learning a new language, but she has found the experience to be fun, exciting and rewarding. She looks forward to a career flying to different communities in Northern Saskatchewan and perhaps one day flying her dad to work at a mine.

“A reason why I did want to become a pilot is because my late grandfather really wanted to become a pilot,” Roberts remarked.

“He almost completed his ground school and he almost got his license, but he fell in love with my grandmother and decided to drop out, move back to Stanley Mission and marry her, so that’s why he never got his license, but I’m hoping that I can do mine and he would be really proud of me.”

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com