Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund 2025 Applications are CLOSED.
About the Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund
After growing popularity and hundreds of thousands of young people impacted, we are proud that the Reach for the Sky Challenge fund is returning in 2025.
Organisations can apply for a share of £750,000 to support outreach projects that will contribute to the Generation Aviation programme. We are looking for outstanding outreach projects that can meet the following three objectives:
- Inspire the next generation of aviation professionals, championing the opportunities available in the sector. Applicants’ activities should focus on developing interest and engagement with the opportunities available in aviation, showing clear links to career pathways. This might also involve supporting someone in developing skills or gaining experience that could be useful for a career in aviation or aerospace, but should not replace formal education, i.e., delivery of statutory licences or educational qualifications.
- Reach individuals who would not otherwise be aware of opportunities available within the aviation sector. Applicants should consider how their project might benefit under-represented groups (i.e. women and girls, people from minority ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities or those from lower socio-economic backgrounds).
- Have a broad impact by reaching and engaging multiple people. This might be achieved through some form of mass participation event, delivery through an education setting or youth group, or via virtual methods that can reach a mass audience.
As with last year, the funding competition will continue to be jointly administered by the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority.
The Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund is an important part of the Department for Transport outreach work, carried out under the Generation Aviation campaign – a joint project between HM Government and industry that aims to raise the profile of aviation careers and remove barriers to access, so the sector can build a workforce fit for the future Aviation campaign – a joint project between HM Government and industry that aims to raise the profile of aviation careers and remove barriers to access, so the sector can build a workforce fit for the future.
2026 Successful Applicants
Aerobility
Flying is one of the greatest expressions of freedom and Aerobility makes it accessible to people with disabilities. Aspire-Ability is a 4-part programme providing 12-18-year-olds with disabilities the opportunity to experience the world of aviation so that they may aspire to newer heights and realise potential. Building a foundation and raising awareness of ability, this programme blends the virtual world with real world practice. Participants meet our flight simulator instructors online with our Virtual Aviation Experience, experience and introductory flight in a real aircraft taking the controls and seeing the world from a new perspective, visit an organisation in the aviation sector, and get to meet with a disabled person working within aviation, learning from their experiences in the industry.
Flight Path introduces London schools to flight-focused career opportunities in the capital’s thriving aviation sector. Interactive digital workshops for primary and secondary schools connect young people with relatable role models so they can see themselves in aviation. By taking part in fun challenges, two classes will win an all-expense paid prize trip experience. This programme also offers in-person workshops to Alternative Provision schools. Designed and delivered by Big Ideas, Flight Path empowers young people to discover the wide range of careers that keep London flying.
Big Ideas
Bright Futures UK
Bright Futures UK ensures that serious illness does not end a young person’s education or future. In 2024, over 250,000 children and young people in the UK missed over 20% of school due to long-term illness, becoming isolated from learning and excluded from emerging career opportunities. This project will deliver a year-long programme of immersive Aviation and Aerospace VR workshops delivered within hospital wards across London. Young people aged 13-18 will explore aviation and space through hands on activities and virtual reality experiences, piloting aircrafts, exploring space environments, and discovering clear pathways into STEM subjects and aerospace related careers.
Through Reach for the Sky funding, this project will deliver hands-on aerospace and aviation activities to over 275 young people across Medway, engaging schools, community venues, and ethnic minority centres. Sessions will raise awareness among young people and their families of the diverse and accessible career pathways within the aviation sector, delivered in partnership with local employers and supply chain organisations.
The programme will include up to five days of employability and workplace skills training, hosted at employer premises and shaped by industry input. Young people will meet multiple employers, with opportunities for selected participants to undertake 20-40 hours of meaningful work experience, with some receiving direct job offers.
At least 20 young people will complete skills training, 10 will secure employment, and five will sustain employment for six months, supported through mentoring and guidance.
Brighter Futures Social Investment
Cranfield University
Cranfield University’s National Flying Laboratory Centre has secured funding from the government-backed Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund, which aims to encourage young people into aviation careers. The funding will support six tailored STEM outreach days for local students in school years 5 to 8.
In 2026, students will visit Cranfield’s campus to explore specialist facilities, including the Saab 340 flying classroom, the Boeing 737, and the Digital Aviation Research and Technology Centre. They will take part in a paper plane design challenge led by Dr Yicheng Sun, a Red Bull Paper Wings finalist.
Students will also engage with professionals from a wide range of aviation careers, highlighting the diversity and accessibility of opportunities within the sector.
Project Elevate is ELATT’s aviation careers programme, delivered as part of the national Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund, supported by the Civil Aviation Authority and Department for Transport. Following a successful first year, ELATT has secured second year funding to expand the programme, supporting young people in East London to explore future pathways in aviation.
Project Elevate introduces students to the wide range of roles within the sector – including engineering, operations, creative, digital and leadership areers – through hands-on activities, industry insight, and real-world learning. The programme combines expert speakers, educational visits and creative projects to raise aspirations, build confidence and break down barriers to entry.
By connecting learning to opportunity, Project Elevate helps young people from underrepresented communities see aviation as a realistic, achievable, and exciting career option.
ELATT
Fantasy Wings
Fantasy Wings will deliver a series of interactive, in person workshops across Birmingham, Manchester and London, designed to open the world of aviation to young people from minority ethnic backgrounds and young women. These sessions introduce participants to a wide range of roles and pathways within the aviation industry, helping them understand how aircraft, airports and airlines operate, and highlighting the many careers available both in the air and on the ground. By creating an engaging, supportive learning environment, Fantasy Wings aims to build confidence, expand horizons and equip the next generation with the knowledge and inspiration they need to pursue opportunities in a sector where they have been historically underrepresented.
Flight Crowd, in partnership with Saxon Air, are delighted to present all new ‘Open Skies Pathways’ programme aimed at young people aged 14-19 (up to 25yo for those with SEND). This UK-wide Careers and Skills programme is designed to inspire and support young people on their journey into Aviation, Future Flight, and Sustainable Transport industries – especially learners who may not otherwise have access to these opportunities. Open Skies Pathways is a varied programme of immersive accessible workshops, live Aviation experiences, adaptive resources, and interactive career panels that equips young people with different interests, abilities and learning styles with the skills, confidence, and connections they need to propel their career to new heights.
Flight Crowd
Get With the Program
The funding will allow Get with the Program to develop a new ‘Moon Landing Coding Adventure’ for 7–11-year-olds, building on the massive success of their current version for 5–8-year-olds. This engaging adventure teaches coding concepts through interactive theatre and inspires children to consider careers in STEM and aerospace. At the same time, by highlighting role models of all genders and ethnicities, it encourages those from underrepresented groups in STEM, particularly girls and children from diverse cultural backgrounds. Once developed, from September, they will be offering this exciting new coding adventure to children (from Years 3-6) in 50 primary schools and clubs across England, completely free of charge.
Get with the Program aims to achieve at least 50% of the 50 schools having higher-than-national-average Pupil Premium eligibility, breaking down barriers to learning and ensuring that all children are encouraged to Reach for the Sky. Their Moon Landing Coding Adventure is particularly suited to this, teaching coding concepts through experiential learning, without the need for expensive equipment.
JET’s Aviation and Aerospace Careers Roadshow, designed to raise aspirations, build employability skills and connect disadvantaged young people to real-world opportunities, will be an incredible opportunity for our Blue Skies students and their wider school communities to learn more about the breadth of careers and pathways to employment within the sector. Many of these students lack positive adult role models and may face life challenges which cause them to disengage at school and not look beyond their often-limiting environments when they consider their own futures. The roadshow will introduce them to new, aspirational settings and professionals from the sector, helping to build self-worth and encouraging them to ‘dream bigger’ for their futures.
Jon Egging Trust
Lightyear Foundation
Lightyear Foundation’s Access All Areas project, will directly support disabled and neurodivergent young people to explore and enter pathways into the aviation and aerospace sector. Through a combination of immersive experiences, accessible skills development, structured mentoring, and youth-led content creation, the project builds aspiration, understanding and readiness for future employment.
The project connects disabled and neurodivergent young people to real-world aviation and aerospace workplaces through fully accessible Work Inspiration Trips, delivered in partnership with sector employers. These visits provide a rare opportunity to experience technical roles up close and hear from those working within the sector. In-school inclusive STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) workshops will introduce key aviation and aerospace concepts through inclusive and accessible experiments, visual aids, and assistive technology. Our partnership with Future First will add a layer of structured mentoring and soft skills support, with group sessions designed to build confidence, communication skills, and career curiosity. With our partners Watch and Learn Productions, participants will co-create video content that will form a growing national resource for schools, educators, and other young people with SEND.
Seadream Rocketry provides hands-on, curriculum-linked workshops for primary schools and community clubs, introducing pupils to the science of flight through practical investigation and experimentation. Using a portable wind tunnel, real wing profiles, foils, and rocket models, pupils explore how lift and thrust are generated, and how design choices affect flight performance.
Seadream Education
Springpod
We want to help young people see aviation as it truly is – a sector full of exciting, varied careers beyond the flight deck. In collaboration with the Aviation Industry Skills Board (AISB), we will create immersive work experiences through Springpod’s virtual platform in an industry-first partnership.
Each experience will engage students and increase career awareness, with a blend of video, interactivity, and real stories from professionals. Students can also opt in to early talent pools, turning inspiration into opportunity.
“We believe this project will play a vital role in amplifying the sector’s appeal and ensuring aviation remains a dynamic, inclusive, and future-ready career destination.” – The Aviation Industry Skills Board (AISB)
The TECgirls Take Flight Programme is igniting ambition in girls across Cornwall, opening the door to exciting futures in aerospace, aviation, and engineering. Building on last year’s success, the programme combines hands-on education, mentoring, work experience, and the TECgirls Reach for the Sky Festival to create clear pathways from curiosity to career.
Through age-appropriate workshops, Challenge Days, and mentoring opportunities, girls from primary school through to further education will gain practical skills, confidence, and direct exposure to aerospace engineering. The programme also captures and shares the stories of local female engineers, creating lasting resources for schools and communities across the South West, aligned with International Women in Engineering Day.
The TECgirls Reach for the Sky Festival returns in June 2026 as a high-energy, family-friendly event landing at Cornwall Airport Newquay. With engineering at its core, girls can explore interactive stands, sit inside real aircraft, meet female pilots and engineers, and see engineering in action. It is the perfect opportunity to discover, explore, and ignite the creativity and ambition needed to engineer the future of flight.
TEC Women
The Mason Foundation
Propel Aviation is a 12-month programme supporting 30 neurodivergent young people aged 13-25 in Greater Manchester to explore aviation as a future career. Through monthly workshops delivered by The Mason Foundation, participants will build vocational skills such as self-advocacy and confidence, developing CVs, and interview skills. The Air League will provide hands-on aviation experiences including gliding days, flight simulators, and behind-the-scenes Manchester Airport tours. Young people will tackle real industry challenges through the Innovator’s Challenge, creating solutions for sustainable aviation and presenting at the Sustainable Skies World Summit. Eight trained school mentors will ensure lasting support beyond the programme.