Ask almost anyone working in air traffic management (ATM) how they got there, and you will hear some version of the same story: a relative who worked at an airport, a random careers fair, a job advertisement they almost scrolled past. Nobody planned it. The route in was an accident, and for most people, there was no clear route at all.
That is the problem CANSO’s Tomorrow’s Voices initiative was created to tackle.
What it is
Tomorrow’s Voices is a CANSO initiative that connects students, graduates and early-career professionals with the senior leaders, technologies and decisions shaping the ATM industry today. It runs primarily during Airspace World, the world’s largest ATM event, and is open to any student, recent graduate or young professional with an interest in aviation, engineering, technology or air traffic management.
What to Expect
Participants have the chance to join a series of activities during Airspace World including a networking breakfast session with CEOs, panel discussions on the next generation of aviation professionals and a curated small-group tours across selected exhibitor booths.
In this year’s edition of the initiative, participants will have the chance to attend a dedicated panel titled “CANSO Tomorrow’s Voices: Building the Talent and Innovation Ecosystem Aviation Needs” which will bring together senior industry leaders to share real initiatives, lessons learned and practical advice on attracting the next generation.
The annual CEO and Senior Leader Breakfast gives participants the chance to sit down with the people actually running air navigation service providers (ANSPs), suppliers and regulators in a genuinely informal setting. It is the kind of access that does not exist in any other format.
Finally, an interactive exhibition tour organised by Engage2 and hosted by EUROAVIA takes participants through the exhibition floor in a gamified format, meeting experts, exploring roles across the industry and building connections along the way.
Why the industry should pay attention
The ATM sector has a visibility problem that goes well beyond marketing budgets. There is an entire generation of engineers, technologists and problem-solvers who have never come across the industry at all, despite having every qualification and interest that would make them exceptional in it. They do not know what an air traffic controller manages through a shift, what an ATSEP (air traffic services engineer) fixes when something goes wrong at two in the morning, or what an airspace designer is working on for the decade ahead.
What changes is direct contact. Meeting a controller, walking through a digital tower demonstration, having a candid conversation with a product lead at an exhibitor stand – that is what moves a young professional from vaguely curious to seriously committed. The connections formed during Tomorrow’s Voices week also tend to be durable. For many participants, those relationships are the deciding factor in whether they pursue an ATM career or drift somewhere else.
How members can get involved
For ANSPs, suppliers and regulators, Tomorrow’s Voices is one of the most practical things available to build a shared pipeline. The programme creates a global cohort of young professionals who already understand what the industry looks like from the inside. If you exhibit at Airspace World, opening your booth for a small-group tour costs very little and tends to leave a lasting impression. If you do not exhibit, sending a senior leader to spend an hour with the cohort achieves much the same effect, and the conversation is usually worth having on its own terms.
The contribution that often goes underestimated is simply talking about it. Every article, post or conversation that mentions Tomorrow’s Voices brings the next applicant a step closer. The programme grows because the industry makes it visible, and right now the industry should be making it very visible indeed.
Apply now
Applications are open. Register at airspaceworld.com/tomorrows-voices or directly via filling this form
We hope to see you in Lisbon.
