Toronto Pearson airport, Seneca Polytechnic form partnership to connect students with in-demand jobs

Posted October 31, 2026 6:59 am.

With millions of more passengers expected to pass through Canada’s biggest aviation hub a decade from now thanks to a massive expansion push, Toronto Pearson airport officials and Seneca Polytechnic have formed a partnership to connect students with in-demand jobs.

“We’re taking on the role of talent pipeline development, and it’s a bigger program. The Seneca program is just one leg in the stool of what we’re doing this year,“ Karen Mazurkewich, a vice-president with Toronto Pearson International Airport, said, noting the jobs extend beyond airline pilots and flight attendants.

“We need talent in operations. We have a lot of people working in security. As we grow out our construction programs, we’re going to need to help our contractors bring in new talent around the trades. So this is a quite a workforce-wide development recruitment program.“

She said Toronto Pearson airport itself and adjoining businesses and entities currently employ around 52,000 people, and approximately 50 million passengers fly in and out of the airport. Mazurkewich said by the mid-2030s, the workforce is expected to swell to 68,000 and 65 million passengers are expected annually.

“If we’re not helping develop [the talent pool], other groups will have to,“ Mazurkewich said.

“We are working in tandem to help accelerate, so not to say it wouldn’t happen but I think we can accelerate to meet the growth that needs to happen.“

Sean Price is a manager at Seneca Polytechnic that oversees aviation academic programs. She said the broader aviation sector and related businesses are seeing growth, and the infrastructure expansion plan (dubbed Pearson LIFT) at Toronto Pearson airport is offering some stability.

“It’s an intimate look at what Pearson LIFT is going to offer. It gives us some influence into our curriculum. So how are we going to direct our curriculum to match the needs of Pearson? I kind of look at it as Pearson’s building the airport of the future, and we’re building the workforce of the future,“ he said.

Price said the school of aviation has programs to train pilots and flight attendants, but noted they also have programs for airport operations, maintenance and logistics.

He said the partnership could involve a more whole-of-Seneca Polytechnic approach to get trades students connected with airport contractors, or getting business-related program students connected with aviation sector companies.

“This is an industry that could also evolve with you, right? We know now that that the the graduate today isn’t one that stays in a job for 40 years; They move, they pivot, they grow. This industry allows you to do that,“ Price said.

Ling Hong is in her third semester of the flight services program, pursing a second career as a flight attendant after working in a health care administration role. She recently began a customer service representative placement with an international air carrier at Toronto Pearson airport.

“I didn’t expect it to be so hands-on … I learned the theory, but then I also developed my passion in the aviation industry,“ Hong said.

“I think actually everything has prepared me really well.“

Leena Bah graduated from the flight services program in mid-2026 and just got hired on as a flight attendant with one of Canada`s major air carriers after completing a school placement.

“I do think [the program] gave me a leg up, especially in initial training and being fresh out of this environment into one that this is meant to prepare you for. It was kind of perfect,“ she said.

“The opportunities are endless. I had someone once tell me that the aviation industry is like a world in of itself.“

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