Overview
Canada’s aviation industry is preparing for its next generation of leaders. The challenge is not only replacing experience but building leadership capacity that can guide teams proactively through change, diversity, and safety-critical decision-making.
The Aviation Leadership Certificate of Completion was created with aviation industry partners for technical specialists and mid-level managers who are ready to move from operational expertise into strategic leadership roles. This program blends leadership theory with applied, project-based learning that reflects the realities of Canadian aviation today. Developed with insight from Western Canada’s aviation sector, it supports leadership growth across airlines, airports, service providers, corporate aviation, and aviation organizations nationwide. The program is delivered by industry-trained facilitators through a mix of online self-study and weekly dialogue-based virtual sessions that support iterative learning and applied practice.
This certificate centres on your Aviation Leadership Engine Blueprint, a personalized portfolio integrating four components: your leadership command dashboard, aviation leadership toolkit, succession and mentorship framework, and final project. You define a propelling question grounded in a real aviation challenge such as workforce succession, safety culture, cross-cultural collaboration, or organizational change and develop solutions throughout the program. With AI CoPilot support as a thinking partner, you iterate through experiential learning cycles, building a leadership approach tailored to your context.
Each of the five courses in the certificate reflects a key step in the learning progression:
- Ground: Aviation Leadership Fundamentals
- Connect: Aviation Intercultural Communications
- Navigate: Aviation Change Management
- Cultivate: Aviation Leadership Development and Succession Planning
- Elevate: Aviation Strategic Planning and Team Engagement
Your journey culminates in the final course, where you present your Leadership Engine Blueprint and Final Project to aviation industry leaders. This integrated solution demonstrates how your leadership practice and strategic insight contribute to workforce sustainability, safety excellence, and organizational advancement.
This program is ideal if you:
- lead or aspire to lead in aviation and want to strengthen your leadership impact
- work in diverse or evolving teams and navigate multicultural dynamics and regulatory complexity
- are moving from a technical role into leadership and want a clear pathway to develop people and strategic skills
- support succession planning, talent development, or knowledge transfer
- champion workforce inclusion and support underrepresented participation in aviation leadership.
Meet our subject matter expert and instructor: Heather Mah
Heather Mah brings more than 16 years of senior leadership experience in Human Resources and Operations to the Aviation Leadership Certificate Program as Subject Matter Expert and Adjunct Instructor. A skilled strategist in communication, change management, and leadership development, Heather excels at navigating high-pressure environments with flexibility and adaptability. Known for respectfully challenging the status quo, she collaborates with SAIT's learning design team to create aviation-specific leadership solutions that address Canada's urgent workforce succession needs through practical, industry-validated training.
There are no course prerequisites or eligibility requirements to take this program. Any education or work experience in aviation will further enrich your professional development journey. Professionals from related industries who are interested in aviation leadership are also encouraged to take this program.
Want to learn more about how the aviation industry works? Our self-paced 40-hour course, AVCE 001 Introduction to Aviation and Operations Management provides an excellent overview.
Upon successful completion of this program, you'll be able to:
- apply aviation-specific leadership principles to lead confidently within Canadian regulatory frameworks and safety cultures
- foster inclusive and high-performing teams by strengthening communication, collaboration, and safety culture across diverse aviation workforces
- guide organizational change with confidence by managing technological, regulatory, and workforce transitions while maintaining safety and engagement
- build sustainable leadership pipelines that reflect Canada’s diverse aviation community and preserve institutional knowledge
- align leadership with operational excellence by integrating technical, organizational, and human factors to improve performance and safety outcomes
- showcase applied learning through your personalized Leadership Engine Blueprint and final cumulative project addressing real aviation challenges.
