DGAC s contribution to match the needs of some airlines in terms of pilot provisioning

Transcription

1 DGAC s contribution to match the needs of some airlines in terms of pilot provisioning ICAO NEXT GENERATION OF AVIATION PROFESSIONALS (NGAP) AND TRAINAIR PLUS REGIONAL SYMPOSIUM JAMAICA MONTEGO BAY 5 to 7 February 2013

2 Summary Pilot provisioning DGAC s contribution Selection and training DGAC s objectives Airlines benefits

3 Pilot provisioning Major airlines usually recruit: young professional pilots coming from private flight training schools, experienced jet pilots from regional airlines or from general aviation companies, and former military pilots. But some of these airlines also hire: State-sponsored young professional pilots.

4 DGAC s contribution to the pilot provisioning Every year, the DGAC (French Civil Aviation Authority) contributes to this pilot provisioning by conducting an EPL meritocratic competitive examination followed by an ATPL pilot training course sponsored by the French Government (EPL stands for and means Airline Transport Cadets). Thanks to this contribution to match some of the airlines needs, the DGAC gives young people an opportunity to embrace the airline pilot career.

5 ENAC is the main actor In fact, and for more than 50 years, the ENAC (French civil aviation university, part of DGAC) is in charge of : Promoting this examination and this pilot training opportunity to young people (through ENAC website, forums, aviation events or fairs, conferences, visits to universities and information spread in preparatory schools and colleges), Collecting and assessing the candidates applications, Conducting the selection process, And finally carrying out the Airline Transport Pilot training.

6 ENAC

7 ENAC in a few words 4 areas of activities: Initial training (2 000 trainees in 25 training programs) Continuing training (7 500 trainees in 500 refresher courses) Research and development International ( students from 100 countries on 5 continents) A flight training school: 50 years of flight training experience 7 flight training bases 120 ground and flight instructors 17 fixed based simulators and 129 aeroplanes Wide range of approved pilot and instructor courses pilot or flight instructor students trained per year

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9 Selection criteria Requirements to take the EPL/S selection process are: To be an EC citizen, To be 17 to 23 years old, To have an higher scientific education level (at least 60 ECTS credits according to the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System standard), To be Class 1 medically fit. There are three different types of EPL Cadets: EPL/S as Scientific for young graduates with no previous flight experience; this course of study is the most important in terms of number of trained Cadets, EPL/U as University for young people who have already passed all their ATPL theoretical certificates and EPL/P as Professional for young people who already hold a commercial pilot license (CPL).

10 Selection process Purpose of this selection : to seek strong motivation and potential skills to become a pilot. Written tests, Psychomotor and psycho technical tests, Interviews, Oral English language test, Class 1 medical check. As an example in 2012 : they were EPL/S candidates. At the end of the selection process, only 28 Cadets were selected.

11 Strong interest by young generation The number of candidates is regularly increasing (1 400 candidates ten years ago, which shows a strong interest of young people to access a pilot career through this training course). The number of Cadets (EPL/S, U and P) varies from 40 to 60 every year.

12 Airline Cadets training course The Cadets attend an Integrated ATP training course compliant with the EASA requirements They take and pass the following examinations: ATPL theoretical certificates CPL skill test IR/ME skill test MCC certificate completion The training duration is 2 years The training is free of charge The Cadets pay for accommodation and food This pilot training meets high standards and is well recognized and appreciated by major airlines

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14 Cross-culture training (refer to article in ICAO TRAINING REPORT Number , pages 10 to 12) The ENAC is also in charge of the training of ATCO trainees in the same facilities, which allows to deliver common training modules for pilot and ATCO trainees either in classrooms, briefing rooms or simulators. The ENAC is developing and implementing further joint training modules to acquire a better knowledge and understanding of the other s job capabilities and constraints with the purpose of continuously upgrading flight safety and efficiency.

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16 Joining an airline Coming back to our Airline Cadets, as soon as their pilot training is completed at the ENAC, they apply for a copilot position in any airline they wish to join. They undergo a selection process conducted by the airline which is not necessarily a French one. We have many examples of Cadets flying with European airlines (Lufthansa, easyjet, Ryanair,..) or even flying with airlines outside of Europe such as Qatar Airways. Then, they attend a type rating course and a line training course before acting as a standard copilot in this airline.

17 DGAC s objectives 1/2 Allow a limited number of young people from social diversity to access this expensive state-sponsored training, through a competitive examination and pilot training. Limited number of students means that there are other students who get an ATPL through private flight training schools. Establish a well-recognised standard with stringent criteria in selection and high quality ATPL training phases.

18 DGAC s objectives 2/2 Enhance the national flight safety by : Providing the flight industry with the best students, recruited on the ground of their merits, with a cross-culture training (common training with ATCOs), Developing new experimental training methods and tools in order to permanently upgrade the ATPL standard, Sharing these methods with other flight training schools upon their request, Designing new experimental pilot training programmes (MPL, etc), Allowing other customers (foreign and French) to benefit from programmes breakthrough, Assisting the French Civil Aviation Authority as an expert on matters related to flight training and safety.

19 Airlines benefits Get high quality young professionals ready to act immediately as a standard copilot, Implement with ENAC a feedback loop of the training results in order to adapt the syllabus if deemed necessary, Get some of the best Cadets capable of evolving from pilots to high potential managers.

20 To conclude, this is the way the French DGAC contributes to the pilot provisioning to meet some of the needs of major airlines. Thank you very much for your attention!