ADDRESS BY THE RECTORICHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE NIGERIAN COLLEGE OF AVIATION TECHNOLOGY, ZARIA, NIGERIA CAPT. ADEBAYO ARABA, TO THE 3sTH ANNUAL IFATSEA ASSEMBLY. (OSTENDE BELGIUM, OCTOBER 6TH - 10 2008)' It gives me great pleasure to address this August Assembly today. The Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (formerly known as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Training Centre) Zaria was established in 1964. It is a unique civil aviation training institution due to its four schools being CO-located. These are the Flying School, The Aircraft Maintenance Engineering School, The Air Traffic Services/Communications School and The Aeronautical Telecommunications Engineering School. The College is situated at the Zaria Aerodrome 75km. from Kaduna city in Kaduna State which is in the North Central part of Nigeria. The runway length at the aerodrome is 1646 metres while other facilities include three hangars with the following dimensions: 38.64m x31.8m x4m - Aircraft Maintenance Hangar 38.6m X 84m X 4m W 110m X 80m X 18m W Flight 3rd Maintenance Hangar Hangar Page 1 of 6
Our fleet of aircraft comprises: P 17 Socata Tampico-TB9 5 Socata Trinidad-TB20 P 3 Beech Baron 58. The primary objectives of the College are: To conduct civil aviation training for use in jtight training or airport operations To train approved persons in installation, maintenance and operation of technical equipment, the use of which is calculated or likely to increase the margin of operational suy%ty of civil aircraft services. To train approved personnel on equipment and necessary facilities for technical research or normal use. Training activities at the College reached the peak between the 80's and 90's. this was due to the provision of more training facilities like the F28 Simulator, a large fleet of trainer aircraft, construction of a bigger (the 3rd) hangar and classrooms, resulting into an increase in the number of instructional personnel, professionals and students. At inception, the College ran some four standard courses in Piloting, Air Traffic Services, Aircraft Maintenance Engineering and Aeronautical Telecommunications Engineering. Today, it ms over 65 standard and abridged courses. The fist set of graduates fkom the College was 22 in number. By the year ending 1999, students Page 2 of 6
graduating from the College had totaled 4,747 and to date, well over 6,500 graduates have been produced in various fields of aviation. The Aeronautical Telecommunication Engineering (ATE) School, one of the four (4) Schools in the College, is structured into five departments. They are: 4 General Electronics and Computer Studies Centre (GEC) Radar Equipment Maintenance Department 4 Navigational - Aids Equipment Maintenance Department.k Communication Equipment Maintenance 4 Electro-Mechanical Equipment Maintenance Department The school conducts various courses in Communication, Navigation, Surveillance, Computers and Electro Mechanical disciplines.-one of the-courses in the school is the Air Traffic Safety Engineering Personnel License Preparatory Course (ATSEP). Air Traffic Safety Engineering Personnel License Preparatory Course The College recognizes the vital role of the Air Traffic Safety Electronics Personnel (ATSEP) in today's highly advanced integrated Air Traffic System (ATS). High availability of this system is a principal factor in ensuring the safety of aircraft and the traveling public. It is essential that correct decisions are made on the maintenance, installation and modification of ATS engineering systems by qualified ATSEP, armed with the full knowledge of the possible risk factors. Page 3 of 6
The risk of incidents may be reduced by having good communication between ATSEP and ATC personnel. The sharing of knowledge of previous events enhances the ability to identify and prevent potential failures. I stress that the safe passage of aircraft will be enhanced with application of technology and adoption of international certification of personnel and equipment. The Air Traffic Safety Electronics Personnel License Scheme was aimed at promoting high availability of Air Traffic Control Engineering Systems and the safety of aircraft. THE ATSEP License preparatory course in NCAT, ZARIA, Nigeria is made up of modules comprising:.k Communication & Navigation & Surveillance 4 Electro-Mechanical & Aircraft Engineering & Safety Management Systems HumanFactor & Management Courses 4 Networking The programme was designed to last for twelve (12) weeks. Page 4 of 6
Nigerian Civil aviation Authority (NCAA) Approval The programme was recognized and approved by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)-by the NCAA Regulation 2006 part 2, personnel Licensing Subsection 21 and part 14-Air Navigation services. TRAINED PERSONNEL The ATSEP License Preparatory course started in the College in 2005. The College has graduated over One Hundred and Sixty (160) personnel fkom various Aviation organizations. Some of which are - NCAA, NAMA, NCAT and Ghana CAA. Changes and current trends in global aviation training have necessitated a repositioning of the College to meet up with the demands of the 21" century. Strategic reforms are thus being implemented. These include re-equipping of the entire College. Furtherrnore, pursuant to the Service Delivery (SERVICOM) objectives of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the College lays emphasis on a three-point agenda: 4 Provision of seamless, streamlined operations\ $4 High employee productivity through training, retraining and staff disciplined 4 Better business resilience with ease of growth and positive change. The right foundation has thus been laid towards ensuring that studying at the College is indeed a memorable experience. Page 5 of 6
I am *erefore humbly recommending that all industry stakeholders utilize the facilities in NCAT, Zaria, to train their Air Traffic Safety Electronic Personnel. In order to rank among their professional contemporaries world wide. I wish you all hitfbl deliberations. Thank you for listening. Page 6 of 6