A new Higher Apprenticeship is being developed to aid those who wish to become professional pilots. Known as the Professional Pilot Higher Apprenticeship (PPHA) project, the Steering Group for this initiative is being led by UK CAA and is being assisted by organisations including the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators (GAPAN), UK Airlines, UK Flying Training Schools, UK Universities, the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), the Sector Skills Council covering passenger transport, Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS), British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) and the Aviation Skills Partnership.
The scheme is being designed to provide an apprenticeship route to a pilot qualification, which will be equivalent to an Honours degree, and enabling trainees to be able to secure student-loan type funding to become a pilot. The first trial apprenticeship intake is expected to begin in March 2013, with Jet2 to train the first intake of cadets but other airlines are also considering joining the scheme.
“The PPHA aims to supplement existing self-funded training routes to offer affordable, broader training equipping pilots with transferrable skills that will see them through the trials of a career in aviation,” said John Turner Director of Aviation Affairs at The Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators.
“Demand for pilots is growing, but the lack of funding for training is a serious deterrent to good candidates,” says Turner. “UK airlines want the best pilots and this apprenticeship programme maps out a realistic career path for those with the right skills to make the grade.”
At a launch event held in November 2012, Simon Witts, MD of the Aviation Skills Network said: “The focus of the scheme is to increase the accessibility of training for pilots and make it easier across the board for people to gain a pilot qualification.”
He added: “The apprenticeship will encapsulate all of the required elements to reach the ATPL with an aircraft type rating, through a MPL (Multi-Pilot Licence) or integrated training route, but since it will be an educational framework with an entry point equivalent to the first year of a degree, eligible students should be able to qualify for a grant or loan.”
The PPHA will combine recognised pilot training from FTOs with an academic higher qualification which will be similar in structure to an Honours degree and will cover areas such as engineering and maintenance and ATC, as well as the usual pilot theory. This will give trainee pilots the option of a career change if a cadet cannot see the training through to the final pilot qualification. It is the academic side of the apprenticeship that is hoped will allow cadets to apply for government student loans. The scheme is also being part funded by the National Apprenticeship Service to encourage the development and take up of higher apprenticeships that are equivalent to degrees.
For more information about the scheme and for pre-entry requirements as they become available, email enquiries@aviationskillspartnership.com or visit
http://www.simonwitts.co.uk/Site/The_Aviation_Skills_Partnership_%26_Network.html
More details here: http://www.simonwitts.co.uk/Site/The_Aviation_Skills_Partnership_&_Network_files/PPHA%20Q%26A%20v5%20November%202012.pdf
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