As leaders in flight operations training we see many different approaches to setting up pilots for long term success with our Clients and our own organization. While there are many effective approaches including recruitment of pre-qualified personnel, more and more organizations are opting to “grow their own” by training from the ground up.
The most effective strategy for most companies is to have multiple approaches to flight operations training, but for today’s blog we’ll concentrate on the training of pilots from the ground up.
There are many reasons to consider a proprietary training program that takes young pilots, develops them and ultimately turns them into experienced senior members of your team: Consistency, loyalty and efficiency among the top ones. We’ve developed a process for selecting young candidates and a training plan that allows us to ensure that the right experience and skills are developed to best serve our Clients and our own firm.
First, we recruit young entry level commercial pilots in their first couple of years of flight. This gives us confidence that they have the necessary basics to start and that we can now develop them through our own flight operations training methods. These young pilots are typically eager to develop their skills allowing us to pair them with our own experienced trainers on state of the art simulators to begin the process.
As they progress, our program evolves to Line Flying under supervision of Type Rating Instructors and Examiners, ensuring that our pilots become proficient with SOP’s, Rules of the Air and Aircraft Operations.
We see this as both wise management for our own operation and supportive of our overall industry. This approach to flight operations training is something we highly recommend for those in our industry to consider. We’re pleased to report that we have recently “graduated” 2 successful candidates who have completed their initial CRJ Type rating through our in house, entry level program.