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AMROBA October Newsletter & 'Breaking News'

Via AMROBA: Volume 20 Issue 10 October 2023









Via the AP email chains:

Shortage of LAMEs

Our latest Breaking News article “Aircraft Maintenance Personnel” article highlights the disconnect between CASR Parts 66/147 and the NVET system.

It highlights the brick wall between CASA and ASQA and why aviation regulations do not recognise Australia’s vocational training system.

To apply for an AME licence, the application should have achieved the applicable VET AQF qualification like all other trades in Australia. Why is aviation different? Because those drafting instructions to create regulations did not make the link.

When will aviation regulations address the “root cause(s)” for the shortage of LAMEs. CASA produced regulations have not provided a solution, only exacerbated the situation.

Root Cause 1:    Pre Parts 66/147, maintenance avionics and mechanical trade training had already changed from industry wide to sector specific at TAFEs providing airline/large aircraft training packages at major training campuses in the early 1990s. A demarcation issue within the airline had further reduced the mechanical trade training into mechanical systems and structures.

Do Parts 66/147 align with the VET avionic, mechanical and structures pathways?  NO

Training development is now politically sensitive because the unions are not part of the regulatory solution.

The non airline sectors, pre-Parts 66/147, had found that these main TAFE providers were not providing helicopter and piston aircraft training. These changes were recognised by CAA, at the time, who had stopped promulgating its “Guide to Become a LAME” that listed the Avionic and Mechanical trade training stream for the whole industry.  This was a guide for State Education Departments as it provided the syllabi for course development.

Root Cause 2.    Unlike the FAA, CASA is not funded to provide trade/licence training but have imposed on government funded RTOs, the Part 147 approval to provide aviation maintenance licencing training outside the Australia’s funded NVET system controlled by ASQA, the training regulator.

This has led to no career pathways in the NVET that match aviation maintenance sector needs.

The solution is to amend the aviation legislation to be compatible with the ASQA legislative/regulative requirements so aviation maintenance personnel can receive NVET AQF qualifications to hold CASA AME licences like other licence holders in other trades.  This is also inline with international standards. 

Whilst Australia languishes in the past, EASA has, 2023, once again amended their Parts 66/147.

EASA latest amendment:            Annex III (Part-66) and Annex IV (Part-147) to the CAW Regulation, introducing, among others, new training methods and teaching technologies and other improvements as part of the regular update of Part-147. In particular, amendments were introduced in order to:

• facilitate the type rating endorsement of aircraft when there are no organisations approved in accordance with Part-147 offering type training on that aircraft, maintaining the same level of safety and a level playing field;
  
• update the basic knowledge training syllabus in Part-66;
  
• enhance the efficiency of the ‘on-the-job training’ (OJT) required for the first type rating endorsement in the maintenance licence category;
  
• enhance the efficiency of the maintenance personnel training system with new training methods and new teaching technologies;
  
• improve and correct the elements that emerged with the implementation of the CAW Regulation.
  

 
We will continue to lobby to see if we can get action 

Ken Cannane

Executive Director
AMROBA
Phone: (02) 97592715
Mobile: 0408029329
www.amroba.org.au
Safety All Around.

MTF...P2