By Orlando De Schrijder

A group of pilots which is often forgotten and not well represented are in no doubt student pilots and jobseekers. As the economic situation improved, airlines slowly start to recruit ab initio pilots again. Given that obtaining the first pilot job is considered a major hurdle for all graduated ATPL students, BeCA is faced with an increasing demand for advice, information and support for this growing group of pilots. The executive committee decided to review the category of jobseekers and student pilots and launched the student pilot working group.

This group of BeCA members comes together regularly and addresses the needs of the young next generation of pilots. An action plan has been set up and the first steps have already been started. Theoretical refreshers are being organised monthly, covering topics that are usually screened during airline pilots selections. The first step in an application process is to have the right information presented correctly to the future employer. The working group therefore decided to organise a session covering CV and motivation letter preparation, also giving advice on how to prepare for a future psychological and HR interview.

But the support goes beyond the requirement of having the right theoretical knowledge and skills to successfully pass a battery of psychological and psychometric testing. The flying skills must also be maintained up to the standards required by the airlines following graduation. As graduated students are faced with a liberalised market and usually have a large burden of tuition debt, finding a cost effective yet high quality solution to maintain their flying skills up to the level required poses a real challenge. The working group plans to contact soon multiple training providers, in order to try to obtain the best rates and other advantages for jobseeker members.

This project is still in its early phase of development: we require more help and resources for the next steps to further support this group of pilots, such as: providing a database for members requiring an instructor or examiner for any revalidation or skill test, a thorough study of the situation of student pilots in Belgium and Europe, providing flight instruction to members willing to prepare for a simulator session (usually part of an airline selection) etc.

If you have experience in the areas of flight training, theoretical instruction or flight operations and are willing to provide the next generation of pilots with your skills and expertise, please contact us at jbs@beca.be. The next generation of pilots is highly motivated and is looking forward to becoming part of our team of professional pilots. At the end of the day, these people will become our colleagues, so it is in our interest to help them become the best pilots they can be and let them find their way to BeCA to have our interests defended at the industry level.