32 | Flight International | 10-16 April 2018 flightglobal.com

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Special report

Boeing’s “active learning” philosophy grew from development of type conversion courses which recognise need for new instruction methods

Skills generation

For all its appeal, the aerospace industry struggles to recruit talented young people, so

various UK institutions are working together to build a modern, accessible training system

D

ifficult though it may be for those in

the aerospace industry to compre-

hend, there is a real problem gener-

ating sufficient interest in aviation

careers to meet the demand for highly skilled

jobs such as engineers, pilots and air traffic

controllers. These professions demand exten-

sive, high-level academic and practical train-

ing. Pilot training in particular requires a

huge upfront financial investment. Once the

students have gained their qualifications

there is plenty of competition for their skills

• newly qualified aeronautical engineers with
  the right degree, for example, can easily be
  poached by other industries.
  A year ago, when launching a new training

centre near London Gatwick airport, Boeing

Flight Services observed that the industry

needed “innovative solutions focused on ed-

ucational outreach and career pipeline pro-

grammes to inspire the next generation of pi-

lots, technicians, and cabin crew”. Boeing

adds: “The growing diversity of aviation per-

sonnel will also require instructors to have

cross-cultural and cross-generational skills to

engage tomorrow’s workforce.”

Boeing makes clear that the digital sophis-

tication of new aircraft and equipment poses

a training challenge, but the same technology

can also provide new learning and teaching

solutions. The manufacturer argues that the

complexity of the subject matter and the new

learning styles of today’s generation demand

new teaching methods, and it has been work-

DAVID LEARMOUNT LONDON ing steadily on designing a new approach:

“Our scenario-based approach for ‘active

learning’ was proven almost three years ago

on our 747-8 EASA [European Aviation Safe-

ty Agency] conversion [type-rating] course,

which previously did not exist.”

On a worldwide basis, Boeing is one of the

dream employers for those who want an avia-

tion or aerospace career, and for that reason it

probably has less recruitment trouble than

others. So the fact that it admits it has to work

on a strategy for attracting the right people for

itself or for its customers hints at the chal-

lenge facing, say, a small, specialist aircraft

component supplier.

If a young person today has an interest in an

aviation career and queries one of the online

search engines, there are generic sites that pro-

Thomas Hanser/Boeing