Life at MAN - Joanna Jackson, Senior Education & Employment Manager

Manchester Airport's significance to the city and the wider region goes beyond its status as a global transport hub - it also serves the community and the local economy by creating thousands of jobs and by giving local people the opportunity to access unique, exciting and rewarding careers.

Joanna Jackson, a Senior Education & Employment Manager at the airport, takes the lead on promoting aviation careers to young people across the region - from overseeing the on-site AeroZone learning centre to leading its Airport Academy vocational programme and organising outreach events designed to reach young people from primary school age to college leavers, opening their eyes to the opportunities available.

In this month's edition of our Life at MAN Q&A series, Joanna talks us through a day in her life, the delight of seeing young people secure their first job in the aviation industry, and why the views from her office window are hard to beat.

How long have you been working at Manchester Airport?

I’ve been working at Manchester Airport for over 12 years, and during that time I’ve had the opportunity to work across a range of departments. I started in the Car Park Booking team, back when phoning up to book holiday parking - rather than just doing it online - was still commonplace! I then moved into the Customer Feedback team, responding to a wide range of customer communications. 

After that, I worked in the Community Relations team, and I now work in the Social Sustainability team, where I lead our Education, Employment and Skills initiatives. I’ve been in my current role for six years.

What does your job involve on a typical day?

My role focuses on leading teams at Manchester and East Midlands Airports, where we deliver a wide range of education, skills and employment opportunities. These programmes help local people access careers at the airport and introduce young people aged 4–19 to the world of opportunity within aviation.

A typical day for me and the team might include working with schools, colleges and training providers; welcoming schools to our on‑site education centre, AeroZone; organising work experience and airfield tours for our partner schools and colleges; and meeting with colleagues and airport partners. Their teams play a vital role in the success of our programmes — it really is a team effort.

We also work in partnership with the Department for Work & Pensions and local jobcentres, supporting and training jobseekers through our Airport Academy. Here, participants develop key aviation and employability skills and receive support to apply for on‑site vacancies, all of which is free of charge. 

My favourite part of the role, however, is brainstorming with the team to develop new and exciting initiatives that encourage more young people to consider a career in aviation - we have so many ideas and there's always such a buzz in the room! 

I always struggled at school to visualise careers and never quite knew what I wanted to do, so it’s important to me that young people can actually see and hear about the opportunities available — especially in such an exciting industry. 

What skills and training are needed for the role?

Technically, there is no formal qualification required. However, you do need a strong understanding of aviation careers, which I’ve developed over the 12+ years I’ve worked for MAG. I personally studied a BA (Hons) in Primary Education at Manchester Metropolitan University, where I qualified as a Primary Teacher. When I graduated, I decided to stay at the airport and progress my career here instead, as I loved the environment and could see the many opportunities available to me.

Strong communication and partnership‑working skills are also essential, as the role involves engaging with lots of different people and organisations, as well as having a genuine passion for supporting others.

What is the most memorable thing you’ve worked on?

Can I have two? 

One of the most memorable projects I’ve worked on is our interactive education centre, AeroZone. I was involved from its inception, designing the interactive role‑play areas, including our mock aircraft cabin with interactive safety demonstration screens and flight simulators! I also created all of the educational materials and saw AeroZone become fully booked within weeks of opening in its first year. It was a long process, but incredibly rewarding, and it allowed me to be creative and bring my ideas to life.

On a more regular basis, one of the most memorable and rewarding aspects of my role is supporting young people and adult jobseekers from local communities into sustainable employment at the airport. Seeing someone gain confidence, develop skills and begin a long‑term career is incredibly fulfilling. I've personally seen three young people go from visiting AeroZone with their school, to securing work experience at college and they are now all in paid roles at Manchester and East Midlands Airport! I keep in touch with them and they are all doing incredibly well! 

Why is it important for the airport to engage with young people in our neighbouring communities?

As one of the region’s largest employers, the airport has a responsibility to support and invest in the communities around it. Engaging with young people helps raise aspirations, challenge misconceptions about careers in aviation, and ensure local talent has access to the wide range of opportunities the airport offers. Airports have a significant social and economic impact locally, so it’s important that neighbouring communities share in the opportunities this creates. We want our airports to be a force for good by providing meaningful education, skills and employment pathways that support long‑term prosperity and social mobility.

Many communities around our airports experience higher‑than‑average levels of deprivation, which makes early engagement especially important. By working with young people from primary school through to early careers, we can break down barriers, showcase the breadth of roles available, and help them build the skills and confidence needed for future employment.

This engagement also supports the long‑term sustainability of the airport itself. By investing in local talent, building strong skills pipelines, and working in partnership with schools, colleges and local organisations, we help ensure our future workforce reflects the communities we serve and that the benefits of growth are shared for generations to come.

What do you enjoy the most about working at the airport?

I’m going to be a bit cliché and say that no two days are the same — because they genuinely aren’t. The office views are also a solid 10/10!

On a more serious note, I love knowing that the work I do can make a real difference to people’s lives while being part of such a dynamic, fast‑moving environment. A great example of this was bringing my goddaughter Maddie to our Kids at Work Day, which my team runs for colleagues’ children to visit the airport and see jobs in action. Maddie absolutely loved the day, especially meeting one of our female firefighters and taking part in a pretend rescue mission. She still talks about it now and is determined to become an aviation firefighter — she’s even started taking steps to get firefighting fit! Moments like that perfectly capture what our work is all about and give me huge job satisfaction.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone considering a career at the airport?

Be open‑minded. The airport offers far more opportunities than most people realise, with careers spanning engineering, operations, customer service, digital, business support and sustainability. There really is something for everyone — if you can think of a job, chances are you can find it at Manchester Airport.

What do you like to do when you’re not at work?

When I’m not at work, you’ll usually find me at the gym, running around after my very pampered free roaming house bunnies, or at a gig!

Which destination that we fly to do you most want to visit?

There are so many destinations on my bucket list, but I’d love to spend a few weeks doing a theme park trip across Europe. I’d also love to go back to Thailand — the culture and food truly captured my heart and with it being easy to fly there from Manchester Airport, its even more tempting!!