Africa Aviation Manpower Shortage And Brain Drain Challenges Spotlighted

The ERA of lamenting over the African aviation "brain drain" especially to the Middle East region,was over and focus should instead be placed on increasing the capacity of the training facilities so as to meet local needs and export the rest to areas where it was needed.

This option was expressed by Dr Titus Naikuni,managing director of Kenya Airways,in his address to the recent African Aviation Training and Recruitment conference held in Nairobi,which was aimed at addressing the continents training needs and how it would affect industry growth.He also stated that there was a need for partnership between African carriers and that tangible action should be taken to address the continents airspace safety concerns.

Charles Wako,chairman of the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) pointed out that aviation was a key player in the tourism and agriculture industries and thus focus on training providers across the industry should be placed on enhancing their efficiency and capacity.

Richard Lubanga who represented the Director General of KCAA,noted that the need for pilots was growing and that by 2030 over 980000 pilots would be required worldwide .Thus initiatives for expansion of training facilities were required in addition to harmonization of regulatory standards.

James de Beer,training captain of A340 crews for South African Airways ,indicated how the airline had developed the national qualification framework which

set the unit standard on how to train an airline pilot from ab initio stage. He indicated how training levels and qualifications were derived,in addition to the airlines command unit standard.

The selection and recruitment of high level aviation management as undertaken in Europe ,Gulf and in Africa,was addressed by Thierry Lindanau,of Spenser Staurt Associates ,Singapore,who noted that expartiates staff should be placed on developing local expertise to yield the best results as was the case in SAA.

Aslam Khan,chairman of ALS Limited addressed theissue of the "brain drain" and capacity building by indicating how his company had lost pilots and engineers to Middle East carriers,reiterating Dr Naikunis remarks that there was need to develop capacity to train enough professionals to meet the growing demand. He also indicated that more government support was required for the planned establish –ment of an air university, a joint venture between ALS and the Kenya School of Flying.

During a tour to the Pride Centre,Kenya Airways training facility,Mbithe Anyanza,Head of Learning

and Development ,gave an overview of the centres history and courses offered which include flight crew,technical ,flight operations,ground services and commercial courses.

Samuel Zewde,VP of Ethiopian Airlines academy ,spoke on preparing African aviation centres of excellence for the thriving aviation industry and noted that,since its establishment in 1957,977 pilots and 2 828 engineers had been trained with about 30-35% being foreigners .He outlined the airlines Vision 2025 which will diversify business and expand its fleet to 116 aircraft,19000 employees while carrying an expected 13-million passengers to 92 destinations in five continents.

Zewde stressed the need to develop partnership to enhance diversity,expand training facilities

,introduce innovative methods and the alignment of syllabuses.

Tobias Lorian,of Lufthansa Technical Training ,outlined the need to establish successful partnership between between international and African training organizations noting that a partnership criteria needed to be set ,as there should be a compatible strategy,financial stability,compatible strength and mutual trust.

Ehab Abd Elwareth,general manager,Egypt Air Training Centre, outlined the profile of the centre in which US$ 100-million had been invested in over 10 years with facilities including four flight simulators and three cabin simulators.

Captain Glen Warden,manager commercial operations and external training ,Comair ,outlined how the airline had successfully achieved continous years of performance without a loss by the operational effectiveness.Its competitive strategy was different by providing internal and external solutions to ensure retention of skills. This was achieved ,he added, by the assessment of motivational factors of effective human resource management software ,quality programming ,emotional intelligence and psychometric development.

Leonard Perkins,regional sales manager of CAE,spoke on enhancing safety and efficiency to

to future technology ,and said that there would be need for 25000 new aircraft in the next 20 years of which 10% would be delivered to Africa. Therefore ,there was a need to refine multi-crew license training by focusing on technological solutions on various computer-based training methods.

Boeing To Lead Trade Mission To Morocco

Boeing has announced it will conduct a trade summit in Casablanca later this year in partnership with the Moroccan Ministry of Industry ,Trade and New Technologies.

The October 12th trade mission will introduce Boeing suppliers to Moroccan companies and encourage partnerships with the country through the Moroccan Aerospace Industries Assocation.

Boeing is already a shareholder in MATIS,a Moroccan company specializing in aerospace wiring and harness products that will celebrate its 10th anniversary of operation later this year. Boeing has also developed strong relationships with many of the 100 other aerospace –related companies in Morocco.

With its location linking Europe and Africa,Morocco has made key investments in its aerospace industry over the past five years ,guided by the National Pact for Industrial Emergence,initiated in 2009 by the Ministry of Industry ,Trade and New technologies.Earlier this year King Mohamed V1,announced the formation of the Moroccan Aerospace Institute (IMA) and the Industrial Platform of Nouasseur (mid Parc).

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/flights-articles/africa-aviation-manpower-shortage-and-brain-drain-challenges-spotlighted-5217510.html

Anthony Mmeri is the Editor and Tours Director at Wings Over Africa Safaris Limited.
This is an Air Charter Company that specializes on Kenya Holiday Safaris ,Hotel Accomodation & Bookings Manda|Pate|Kiwayu & Many Other Towns on Coastal Region of Kenya,East Africa. The website has guided thousands of travelers to achieve their dream holiday. For more information and guidance, visit the site at http:// / /www.wingsoverafrica-aviation.com/index.php/services/tourist-flights.html/a>