2025 AHIFF HELICOPTER MAINTENANCE
ENGINEERS SCHOLARSHIP
The Australian Helicopter Industry Association (AHIA) and Australian Helicopter Industry Future Foundation (AHIFF) are pleased to announce that applications are now open for the 2025 Helicopter Engineering Apprenticeship Scholarships.
In an exciting development for the industry, AHIFF will award an increased scholarship of $4,500, up from $3,000 to an eligible recipient in each state and the Northern Territory.
Scholarships will be funded equally by AHIFF and AMDA Foundation Limited, with winners to be announced at the Australian Helicopter Industry Association (AHIA) Conference as part of the RotorTech 2026 Vertical Flight Exposition, held at the RACV Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast, from 6–8 May 2026.
To be eligible, applicants must be currently employed by a member of the Australian Helicopter Industry Association as a 2nd or 3rd year apprentice maintenance engineer servicing the rotary-wing industry. Scholarships will be paid following RotorTech 2026, with funds intended to offset the cost of professional development activities such as tooling and type courses.
The objective of providing these scholarships is to retain high-calibre engineers — particularly in regional areas where a critical shortage of LAMEs continues to impact the industry.
AHIFF is a registered charity established in 2022, following an extraordinarily generous donation from John Cameron as his legacy to address the nationwide skills shortage in helicopter engineering.
Applications for the 2025 scholarships are now open Apply now!
The selection criteria for the AHIFF Apprentice Helicopter Maintenance Engineers Scholarship include, but are not limited to, the following:
Academic progress
Course attendance
Progress in and contribution to the work place
Special awards or achievements
The benefits offered by receiving scholarship assistance
All applications will be judged by a panel comprising board members of AHIFF and leading industry engineers. The decision of the judges is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
Applicants should complete the following Application Form, attaching extra pages if required. You may attach any additional or special information which you feel may support your application, including copies of any references or special awards, your resume, school reports or certificates.
Applications can be emailed to ceo@austhia.com .
Applications close on 9 April 2026.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact Julian Fraser on 0418349415 or ceo@austhia.com . We look forward to receiving applications for the 2026 Scholarship.
