Reduce Training Costs
Yesterday, an industry executive made the call to reduce the cost of training for airline pilots and mechanics. She said, “New planes will require more than 18,000 new pilots every year — 360,000 pilots over the next 20 years – on average, through 2025 as well as 480,000 new mechanics during that period of time.” She added, “As the need for training continues to rise, we must, as an industry, find a way to lower the costs.”
So, who was the executive making those strong statements? An airline executive? The director of a large corporate flight department? The president of a trade union?
Actually, it was the president of Alteon, Sherry Carbary. That’s right, Alteon Training company! The statements were made in her keynote speech at the World Aviation Training Symposium and Tradeshow (WATS).
Those are pretty strong statements. Even more so considering Carbary was making those statements in front of a group of her peers – other aviation training companies.
So, what do you think? Do you think the cost of maintenance training is too much? Or, do you consider the cost in line with the value you get for that training? Share your thoughts with us.
To read the full story as reported by Aero-News.net, click here.
Thanks for reading!
Joe Escobar
Training is expensive when you consider the overhead of the entire facility and staff. I believe costs can be reduced through on-line/remote networked training for maintenance. Flight training, as far as I can tell will require a facility visit for simulator time. The other way to reduce costs would be to shorten the classes. I have been to several different airframe courses, both initial and recurrent. For example, a Falcon 50 initial was covered in 2 weeks and 3 days (in 1988 anyway) and a Citation 560 more recently, in 2 weeks…and the Falcon 50 is twice the airplane, systems wise. The Citation course was clearly being dragged out (20 minute breaks several times a day) in order to fill that 2 week slot.
Training providers could provide training materials for self study, perhaps a correspondence course, on the aircraft, engine, or system, to meet the knowledge requirements needed, followed by focused hands-on training.
This would reduce instructor contact hours, time away from the job, etc.
Would require some self discipline on the mechanics part to study and prepare. Maybe they should successfully test on the subject matter prior to the hands-on portion.
Just a thought!
Training can reduce cost by reducing using of hard copies and print out for students . May use CD insteads of .
Perhaps by lowering the cost of the training the training companies could fill their classes. I have been to several maintenance training courses from several companies where there were only 2 or 3 students. Once I was the only student. This would be the equivelant of an airline only filling a handful of seats.
I asked a training company for a quote to train 6 mechanics at my facility. The price was the same per student as if I only had them trained at thier facility, plus per diem and travel and lodging for the instructor. I could not justify the cost to management and therefore could only send one mechanic to training where he was in a one week class with one other student.
I would say that reading this text we could see two diferent senarious. First is about cost control manegemnt of Aviation Training Business as regular one and the other is about maintan the quality of those people involved in aviation activityes and how is important and the cost saved by a full qualified professional.
Training costs will be reduced when airlines recognize
a. There is a difference between line maintenance and base maintenance
b. utilize realistic simulation which challenge technicians to demonstrate system knowledge and analytical ability
c. require meaningful, related testing of skills required for tasks.
d. require recurrent training that builds on past training skills and challenge technicians to develop critical thinking skills
e. eliminate the “it flew in, it will flyout” mentality used by too many
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