[Peetwo]

Act now or else -

Very much related to part 2 of the AMROBA latest news letter - see my post HERE & HERE:

2. Basic General Aviation Ideas Needed.


Why is North America (USA/Canada) general aviation flourishing and of such size? There are basically two principles applied and that is to provide pilots and maintenance personnel with the appropriate practical skills. In the last newsletter we identified that ICAO GA standards places organisation responsibilities on the pilot and LAME. North America adopts that principle.

General aviation covers private operations to aerialwork, charter and small airline operations and maintenance, manufacturing and training activities. It ranges from small and informally organised individuals and organisations servicing private and other non-passenger commercial businesses through to structurally organised businesses servicing commercial operators.

GA is a very broad area of employment so what works in one sector in many cases does not work in another sector. For example, small aviation businesses in rural locations need to employ from the local community to retain the employee on completion of training – it is an employee retention issue.

Training is the major issue for many local communities as learning to fly or becoming an aircraft tradesperson usually means travelling, at great costs, to a location where specific training is available with additional costs.

Major Issue - Training. There has to be a concerted re-think on the provision of pilot and maintenance training so that training is brought to the local community rather than centralising training at a limited number of locations, mainly near major cities.

In the USA, a person interested in learning to fly can access a website and find the nearest independent flight instructor. Example Website: Independent Flight Instructors or flying school Website: Flying Schools. What the US system does is provide various pathways to obtain a pilot licence.

The same applies in the maintenance fields, e.g. training schools website: Online website. In the US, community schools and FAA Part 147 approved schools share the training almost evenly with very similar A&P practical and knowledge pass marks. There is a small
percentage that self study, gain experience and pass the practical and knowledge tests. It is the flexibility in the FAA regulatory system that was copied by EASA.

EASA provides a similar flexible approach to the FAA but Australia adopted only one of three ways provided by EASA. It has not worked. See item 4 for more detail on AME training flexibility. A system that sees many aircraft not being flown or low utilisation of aircraft has systemic problems with the overall system.

Aviation depends on renewal. New pilots, new aircraft and new support personnel.

Safety improvement relies on the transfer of knowledge and experience from one generation to the next.

 
From Avbiz today, apparently the TLISC Aviation Workforce Skills Study was released last Friday (presumably in conjunction with the Miniscule & Industry AICC meeting) and is now available for industry comment up till 16 February 2016:

Aviation workforce study reinforces need to get cracking

03 Feb 2016

An Aviation Workforce Skills Study, circulated this week among industry participants, reiterates many of the issues that have been bubbling away in the aviation sector for some time, but with a renewed sense of urgency that talk needs to be replaced with action.

Conducted by the Transport & Logistics Industry Skills Council (TLISC) in October on behalf of the Federal Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, it draws from a diverse range of data from aviation occupations ranging from licensing  to VET funding. The study sought to identify the industry's workforce and skill needs, as well as action to be taken. The preliminary report was presented to the department's minister, Warren Truss, last Friday.

“The sector is under tremendous pressure to adapt in a very dynamic environment with rapidly growing cargo and passenger traffic, stringent regulations, and fast-paced technology innovation,” said TLISC chief executive Robert Adams.

“As such, the availability of skilled and trained staff is crucial to the ongoing viability of our aviation industry,” he said.

A “significant” issue in the study was concern around the status of aviation safety regulatory reform and its potential impact on key occupations involved in the reforms at the employer and individual level.

The perennial issue of a shortage of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) workers was, like other reports in circulation, of concern to the majority of industry stakeholders and training providers, along with offshoring and/or outsourcing of aircraft maintenance functions by Australian airlines.

The need for an industry-wide approach to aviation workforce planning and development, supported by streamlined policy and regulation was raised. Strong international opportunities for Australian aviation training providers and pilot poaching were also constants in feedback along with cost barriers to entering the industry faced by individuals and businesses and the cost of training.

The implementation of current regulatory reforms into industry operations was a bug-bear, with many industry stakeholders questioning the cost/benefit ratio of the reforms for the industry with the potential for even less budget available in future for staff training.

Respondents pointed to the need for greater centralisation and co-ordination in workforce planning across the aviation industry to better inform regulatory and policy decisions that may affect the sector in the future.

The occupations covered in the research were pilots (both plane and helicopter), air traffic controllers, flying instructors, air transport professionals, aircraft maintenance engineers (avionics, mechanical and structures), flight attendants, aircraft baggage handlers, airline ground crew and aircraft refuellers.

Industry participants have until February 16 to submit comments on the key themes and to provide feedback that either confirms the salient issues have been raised or add others.

 
From TLISC website:

Transport & Logistics Industry Skills Council › Aviation Workforce Skills Study




Key Issues Paper Released

To download your copy of the Key Issues Paper, please click here. The purpose of this paper is to provide stakeholders with a summary of the key themes and issues that have been identified so far by the study and to verify their accuracy.  The contents of this paper are drawn from industry consultations and other research activities completed by TLISC during October – December 2015.

These activities are part of the Aviation Workforce Skills Study (AWSS), work undertaken by TLISC on behalf of the Commonwealth’s Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development. The AWSS is a study into the state of the aviation workforce in Australia which seeks to identify the industry’s workforce and skill needs, as well as the actions that can be taken by industry to meet those needs.

This study responds to the need, recognised by industry and government alike, to support the effective, safe growth of the aviation sector in Australia. The sector is under tremendous pressure to adapt in a very dynamic environment with a rapidly growing cargo and passenger traffic, stringent regulations, and fast-paced technology innovation. As such, the availability of skilled and trained staff is crucial to the ongoing viability of our aviation industry.

How to provide feedback

Stakeholders are invited to submit their comments on the key themes and issues outlined in this paper by close of business on Monday, 15th February 2016.

In considering the key issues and themes identified in this paper, we are keen to have any feedback that either confirms your issue has been covered, or else raises an issue you feel should be addressed in the final report but has not been covered here.

It is acknowledged that the information provided about issues in this paper is deliberately brief, and that they will be discussed in greater depth in the final report.  The purpose of this paper is to validate and confirm that the final report is an accurate account of stakeholder concerns.

Responses can be emailed to research@tlisc.org.au

&.. from the Aviation Workforce Skills Study - Key Issues Paper:

1. AWSS Key Themes and Issues Summary


The Aviation Workforce Skills Study has so far identified a wide range of issues related to Australia’s aviation environment to be considered by policy makers and industry stakeholders. These include:

1.1. There is strong evidence of an identified need for an industry-wide approach to aviation workforce planning and development, supported by streamlined policy and regulation. This includes the collation, aggregation and sharing of all relevant aviation occupational licencing and training data with all state and federal agencies with an interest in aviation workforce skilling outcomes.

1.2. The current costs barriers faced by individuals and businesses are well understood, however there i s a need for the industry to invest more in its current and future workforce through public and private funding mechanisms.

1.3. There are strong international opportunities for Australian aviation training providers, both in terms of overseas operations and involvement in capacity building efforts have been identified through survey responses and industry intelligence and feedback.

1.4. Significant issues were raised during industry consultation regarding the status of aviation safety regulatory reform in Australia and the potential impact of these on key occupations involved in the reforms, at the employer and individual level.

1.5. The implementation of current regulatory reforms into industry operations was continually raised as a concern, with many industry stakeholders questioning the cost/benefit ratio of the reforms for the industry with the potential flow-on for even less budget to be available for staff training in the future.

1.6. Some survey respondents pointed to the need for greater centralisation and coordination in workforce planning across the aviation industry, to better inform regulatory and policy decisions that may affect the industry in the future.

1.7. Access to a wide range of data sources related to aviation occupations, licencing data, and publicly- funded tertiary and VET funding information is critical for policy makers to make informed decisions related to aviation skilling strategies.

MTF..P2