If you’re looking for work in Peterborough & the Kawarthas, you might not be aware of a flourishing industry that offers ample opportunities for a rewarding career: aerospace. The Peterborough region, including the airport, is home to a robust aerospace and defence supply chain.
Since launching the airport development program in 2010, the Peterborough Airport has seen the number of jobs double from 251 to more than 500, and GDP grow even more, from $40 million to $90 million. And that’s just the beginning, as the aerospace sector in Peterborough & the Kawarthas is headed for even greater growth over the next several years.
“Peterborough is set to become Eastern Ontario’s leading airport,” says Trent Gervais, President and CEO of The Loomex Group. “We’ve got Highway 407 providing easy access to Toronto, and the Peterborough Airport has a 7,000-foot runway that can accommodate Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 operations, with lots of room to grow.”
The Loomex Group, whose head office is one of 22 businesses operating out of the Peterborough Airport, is a stellar example of the growth of the aerospace sector in Peterborough & the Kawarthas.
Launching with just five employees in 2008, the company now sits at about 100 employees across four companies working in diverse services including aerospace and defence, infrastructure and asset management, emergency management, and education and compliance. In May 2020, The Loomex Group acquired ACF Associates Inc. and moved the defence company’s head office to the Peterborough Airport.
Parent company Loomex works with airports, all levels of government, and Indigenous communities across Canada and into the United States. But, according to Gervais, Peterborough remains “home.”
“We invested in Peterborough Airport and built a 22,000-square-foot headquarters,” says Gervais. “We had expansion plans and wanted to cement our commitment to Peterborough and invest in the airport because we believe in it. That was our thinking at the expansion, and we still believe that with all that’s going on, we’re in the right place to lead from.”
With The Loomex Group offering so many services to clients across the country, there is opportunity to explore a wide range of job opportunities, including at the company’s Peterborough Airport headquarters.
“I always say that, whatever you want to do, there’s a career in aviation — whether you want to be a painter, or electrician, or work in sales, marketing, management, strategy, or tactics,” says Gervais. “Whatever you want to do, there’s a big demand. Aviation is big in Canada and it’s growing by the millions every year.”
Gervais notes that a benefit to The Loomex Group being a medium-sized company is employees know exactly who they are working with, while still having opportunities for movement and advancement within the company.
“We try to promote within, and we really believe in that projection of asking what you want to do and helping you get there,” Gervais explains, referring to the concept of a career ladder — a tool that helps workers understand the path from an entry-level position in their chosen profession to progressively more senior positions.
“You can go with a company that’s got two or three thousand employees and you’re just a number,” Gervais says. “Whereas here, people matter and are our biggest investments.”
In addition to its operations out of the Peterborough Airport, Loomex operates northern airports for communities including the City of Dryden and the Municipality of Greenstone in Ontario.
Airports in northern locations are often part of critical operations including wildland fire fighting, medivacs, and search and rescue, and provide connectivity for businesses in those communities. The company also operates an aerodrome for a mine north of Timmins, providing operations and airport management and managing flights to carry workers to and from the mine.
With so many opportunities both at its Peterborough Airport headquarters and through remote work in rural communities, The Loomex Group offers aviation students the opportunities for student placements and hires recent graduates from post-secondary schools with studies in aviation management. The company also supports hiring those who aren’t necessarily experienced in aviation but have experience in the skilled trades.
Facilitating employment opportunities in the fast-growing aviation industry is also a goal of the Peterborough Airport itself, which is owned by the City of Peterborough and looked upon as an economic driver and tool for job creation.
Already a hub for aerospace education and research, the Peterborough Airport and airport tenants work in partnership with the Peterborough Victoria Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board to offer the Aviation and Aerospace Specialist High Skills Major program. Through an eight-week paid summer placement, high school students gain valuable on-site experience working with businesses located at the airport, introducing them to and preparing them for a future in aviation.
“There is so much need for future aviators and employees in this sector,” says Kyle Bruce, the Manager of Airport Administration at the Peterborough Airport. “It’s a critical link to meet the needs and help the industry grow by providing that exposure to students while they’re young, and inspiring young aviators to explore different jobs and opportunities that are out there.”
Gervais agrees, and notes that the presence of Seneca College, Trent University, and Fleming College also gives The Loomex Group access to post-secondary students who may be interested in an aerospace career.
“I’m a big supporter of our local colleges and universities, and we know education is important,” he says. “Having access to those institutions has been a big benefit to being based here in Peterborough when trying to attract aerospace and defence businesses to the airport.”
For Gervais, many students who have come out of the Aviation and Aerospace Specialist High Skills Major program, or a co-op placement at one of the nearby post-secondary schools, have continued to build on their experience to move into more senior roles with The Loomex Group.
“We have some really great success stories from the program,” he says, sharing that one of the first graduates went to study aviation management after high school and was subsequently hired by The Loomex Group. “He started building his positions through us to the point where he became an airport manager at one of our sites.”
With parent company Loomex offering so many services and operating across different regions, The Loomex Group’s employees also have ample opportunities to move to different jobs or locations.
“They can go anywhere within our group of companies,” Gervais notes. “They may start in remote areas to get experience and then transfer somewhere else. You don’t have to stay in the Loomex lane, and the diversity of projects is different every day.”
No matter where an employee may be on their career ladder, Gervais assures one thing: all employees are paid above the living wage of the community in which they are based.
“Nobody should have to work below that living wage, so we pay fairly well above that and it’s one of our commitments to our staff,” says Gervais, noting that it’s part of showing appreciation for all staff. “The tagline for our staff is ‘We’re one team, one mission’ so everybody matters. It doesn’t matter whether we’re sweeping floors or you’re in my office, we’re all the same, and everybody matters.”
As for those considering a career in the aviation industry, Gervais says there’s nothing like it.
“Whether it’s building or repairing an aircraft and seeing it fly out, or being a nurse on a medevac, or just seeing them take off and land — how rewarding is that?” says Gervais. “The opportunities here are just limitless.”
For more information about The Loomex Group, visit loomex.ca.
Explore employment opportunities at the Peterborough Airport at peterborough.ca/en/doing-business/airport-services.aspx.
This branded editorial is one of a series created in partnership with Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development. If your organization or business is interested in a branded editorial, contact us.
