To ensure we are ready to train the hundreds of thousands of qualified aviation personnel who will be required to meet the demands of the next two decades, we will have to clearly understand the evolution of learning.
We know the rapid rate that air transport is growing and that current projections indicate the number of passengers will double between now and 2036. Based on the regional and global projections for pilots, maintenance personnel, and air traffic controllers, this growth will create shortages of skilled personnel in these areas. But as we all know, there are hundreds of different professions in the air transport system. From jobs in the field of aviation medicine, to aviation security, accident investigation, air law, flight dispatching, aircraft design, the list goes on.
In the field of civil aviation training, it is critical that we identify the appropriate intelligence that will allow us to rapidly provide optimal aviation training solutions that meet the demands of this growth, and at the same time, maintain or exceed safety requirements.
We are faced today with an abundance of information that comes to us from various sources. New learning technologies in the form of wearable devices that attach to the human body and collect and deliver data, are one example of this. Augmented reality helmets replace an air traffic controller’s paper flight strips with a digital presentation of the information superimposed on their work space. They can also present maintenance personnel with a digital view of systems that may not be visible because they are obstructed by covers or other components, or they can generate a digital representation of the ideal approach path for pilots.
The key is to integrate the decision-useful information, known as intelligence, into training organizations in a coherent and functional way
Applications of Big Data are already being used in aviation training in the field of safety management programmes; training needs analysis; and in recruitment and selection practices that compare applicant attributes against competencies demonstrated by top-performing employees through predictive analytics. Additionally, data generated by artificial intelligence technologies can be used to guide the structure of the curriculum.
The key is to integrate the decision-useful information, known as intelligence, into training organizations in a coherent and functional way. More and more, civil aviation training centre managers, are required to practice decision making based on managing all available aviation training intelligence™.
Aviation training intelligence™ is generated within extremely dynamic environments. Training centre managers should manage it by establishing integrated digital systems to structure, organize, and generate reports that will allow their organizations to make intelligent business decisions.
To better understand ICAO’s Aviation TRAINAIR PLUS Programme (TPP) and the competency-based methodology which has been implemented in close to 80 States and used by more than 100 training centres and educational institutions, read this article on Aviation Training Intelligence™.