The forecasts are clear: a boom of women drone pilots in the next 5 years

There is no denying it: the tendency to approach the profession of drone pilot is still predominantly male. In Italy, to date, fewer than twenty women have taken a SAPR operator course and obtained ENAC certification.
This is probably because it is a brand-new profession about which there is still little information, and most people come to know it through earlier passions and interests such as model aircraft flying and the military sector, which are followed mostly by men and boys. Even more likely, it is a problem of imagery and communication.

But the market forecasts for the drone sector and for all the related industries revolving around this innovative field are clear: over the next 5 years there will be an incredible increase in women's interest in the profession of drone pilot, and what's more, they will network and exchange experiences, as the participants in the first Meeting of women UAS pilots held last May in Rome have already begun to do.

The reasons for this growth forecast are easy to understand:

1 - Versatility of the applications of this job

As already mentioned, an ENAC-recognised SAPR operator can work in an innovative way and provide enormous support in a wide range of sectors, many of which already have a considerable history of female experience, such as photography, film direction, technical and engineering fields, etc.

The shift to using drones, or at least to a deeper knowledge of multicopters, is unavoidable for all technical professions, and this will inevitably lead to greater awareness of the countless career opportunities linked to the (practical and legal) ability to fly a drone.

2 - Communication

At industry conferences and trade fairs (from education to photography, from strictly technological fairs to conferences on architecture, design, etc.) and at many other training and information events where female attendance is always very large and often higher than male attendance, people talk of nothing but drones and new models of quadcopters and hexacopters suited to various purposes are presented.

This direct approach to the subject in such settings will probably underpin greater awareness among young students and professionals of these tools, which are indispensable in many fields. The chance to touch, experiment, engage in person and ask experts direct questions will break down cultural barriers, doubts and fears, or at the very least open a door onto a profession that was previously not considered.

3 - Courses entering schools

Courses on multicopter piloting are finally being introduced into many technical institutes, with a focus on technical as well as legal and regulatory aspects and, of course, with specific attention to the application fields of drones in jobs related to each institute's main subjects of study (architecture, construction, art, agronomy, etc.).

Schools must not fall behind in communicating new opportunities to young people and must take responsibility for providing information about technological innovations, especially in technical institutes, whose career paths rely above all on young people's ability to keep pace with innovation.
Moreover, in an increasingly 'fluid' and less structured job market, and after years in which unemployment has always been more of a female than a male problem, women workers have by now acquired a greater drive towards novelty and innovation that training institutions cannot fail to nurture.

School is the main source of information for young people about their real job prospects, and it would be wrong to leave communication and information about this huge new professional opportunity solely to companies and the media, all the more so in a country that has only just emerged from a long recession, with such high youth unemployment, and where, moreover, the employment and pay gap between male and female work is still so marked.