This summer, I had the opportunity to work with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) as a Talent Data Analyst through the Saltire Scholars Programme. As a mathematics student eager to apply my analytical skills in a real-world setting, I was drawn to this internship for three reasons: the chance to live and work abroad, the opportunity to deepen my data analytics expertise, and my curiosity about the airport and aviation industry.
Heading into the role, I didn’t know what to expect. I had some nerves about moving to a big city like Toronto, balancing the challenge of learning my way around with stepping into a completely new workplace environment. I quickly discovered, however, that GTAA was a place full of opportunity and supportive colleagues who encouraged me to take on new challenges.
One of my main responsibilities was to transform how GTAA managed and visualised its leadership and talent data. Previously, the airport relied on Deloitte to analyse psychometric and behavioural assessments of senior leaders, but my role was to bring this process in-house. Using Excel to clean the data and Power BI to build interactive dashboards, I created a tool that could slice and dice leadership data by supervisor, level, and business unit. It also displayed who belonged to each unit, their reporting lines, and their development drivers and drainers. This dashboard was then used in biannual talent reviews, helping HR business partners and executives - including the CTO - make evidence-based decisions. Seeing my work in action during these sessions was one of my proudest moments.
Beyond leadership data, I developed additional dashboards that focused on different aspects of HR and business performance. One tracked learning and development, monitoring mandatory training completion rates by department and team. Another focused on performance, showing goal setting within the HRIS and completion percentages. A third highlighted vacancies across the business, allowing users to filter by level, unit, and supervisor. I also delivered a presentation to the HR team on how analytics could support their work and created a nine-box talent review model, combining learning speed and performance data to identify top, core, and lower-performing talent segments.
When I started, my Excel skills were average, and I had never used Power BI. Over the course of the summer, I not only mastered these tools but also gained confidence, improved my planning and communication skills, and learned to be more people orientated. Each new project felt like a challenge, but with careful planning and open conversations with my team, I delivered meaningful results every time. This experience ignited my passion for data analytics, especially seeing how numbers can directly influence real-world business decisions.
The internship was about more than just work. As a Saltire Scholar, I had the chance to experience GTAA behind the scenes - from touring the apron control tower and emergency services training institute to going airside post-security. Outside of work, living on the University of Toronto campus with other Saltire Scholars was an unforgettable adventure. Together we explored Niagara Falls, the CN Tower, Canada’s Wonderland, saw The Weeknd live and so much more.
This internship has been a turning point for me both personally and professionally. I leave Toronto with stronger technical skills, lifelong friendships, and a clearer sense of where I want to take my career. My advice to future Saltire Scholars is simple: say yes to every opportunity. Even if it feels daunting at first, the rewards - in learning, confidence, and connections - are worth it. Being a Saltire Scholar has shown me the value of stepping outside my comfort zone and embracing challenge, and I’ll carry that mindset forward into my studies, career, and beyond.
