International Civil Aviation Organization

World-wide CNS/ATM Systems

Implementation Conference

Rio de Janeiro, 11 – 15 May 1998

International Civil Aviation Organization

World-wide CNS/ATM Systems

Implementation Conference

Rio de Janeiro, 11 – 15 May 1998

WW/IMP–WP/34

11/5/98

Item 6.4

Agenda Item 6:	Training needs

6.4	ICAO's TRAINAIR Programme

THE TRAINAIR PROGRAMME

(Presented by the Secretariat)

Information Paper

SUMMARY

This support paper provides a background on the TRAINAIR Programme, its progress to date and future areas for development.

1.	Introduction

1.1	The goal of the TRAINAIR programme is to improve the safety and efficiency of air transport through the establishment and maintenance of high standards of training and competency for aviation personnel on a global basis. The challenges ahead for civil aviation training institutions are considerable. They must meet an increasing demand for well-qualified personnel in a wide range of disciplines and emerging technologies. At the same time, the demands placed on many civil aviation training institutions are greater than the resources available. A basic premise of the TRAINAIR Programme is, therefore, to enhance the cost-efficiency of training for the participating States in light of today's economic realities.

1.2	TRAINAIR has been developed consistent with ICAO's policy on aviation training, which is currently contained in Assembly Resolution A31-5, Appendix H. It states, inter alia, that "Contracting States shall be encouraged and assisted in the maintenance of high standards of training of aviation personnel and particularly those employed in the provision and operation of services and facilities for international air navigation. To this end, as a part of its regular work programme, the Organization shall carry out a continuing training programme which is referred to as the ICAO aviation training programme".

1.3	The ICAO aviation training programme is governed by the following principles:

a)	aviation training is the responsibility of Contracting States;

b)	the ICAO Aviation Training Programme shall encourage mutual assistance among Contracting States in the training of aviation personnel; and

c)	the Organization should not participate in the operation of training facilities, but should encourage and advise the Contracting States operating such facilities.

1.4	The Associated Practices of this resolution add that, "through the development of specifications and guidance material, the conduct of training seminars, and by direct advice and consultation, the Council should assist Contracting States to:

a)	standardize, as far as practicable, the curricula, methods and content of training courses and establish adequate examination and licensing provisions;

b)	bring levels of accomplishment in line with international Standards; and

c)	employ the criteria referred to in a) and b) above so as to bring about greater uniformity in operating practices and procedures.

2.	Programme Strategies

2.1	The TRAINAIR Programme uses three basic and inter-related strategies to achieve its goal. The strategies include:

a)	encouraging States to use a standardized training development methodology established by the TRAINAIR Programme;

b)	developing an international training resource sharing system; and

c)	building an international, co-operative network of civil aviation training institutions.

2.2	Standardized Training Development Methodology. The TRAINAIR Programme has been designed to enhance training effectiveness and efficiency through the use of a standardized and modern instructional development methodology. The programme promotes the use of the methodology, on a global basis, by assisting civil aviation training institutions in its application. The methodology is the well-proven systems approach to training. TRAINAIR has adapted the methodology, as necessary, to meet the needs of civil aviation and developed guidance documents and training programmes to support its implementation.

2.3	International Training Resource Sharing System. Courses developed using the TRAINAIR methodology conform to a strict guideline that specifies both the instructional approach and the format of the training materials. Since the approach is standardized among all members, a training package produced in one institution can be used by another with little adaptation. TRAINAIR has established a system in which all programme members can acquire the training packages developed by other members at a cost that is not to exceed reproduction and postage expenses. Recently, members began exchanging complete courses electronically, thereby significantly reducing the cost of acquiring packages from the sharing pool. The sharing system is highly efficient for members as they can now acquire many of the courses they need in their institutions through the sharing pool and need only prepare a minimum number of courses themselves. It is envisaged that, as the TRAINAIR network of participating training institutions grows, there will be opportunities for members to benefit further from the system by sharing training resources in addition to course materials.

2.4	International Co-operative Network. The third, and possibly the most important strategy of the TRAINAIR Programme, is to facilitate and promote international co-operation in training. To accomplish this, TRAINAIR organizes regular meetings for senior training managers and course developers of the participating training institutions. The directors meet during regularly scheduled TRAINAIR Co-ordination Conferences and the course developers during Course Developers Seminars. TRAINAIR conferences and seminars enable the members to plan, co-ordinate activities, co-operate and in some cases collaborate in course development projects. Co-ordination conferences also address global training issues of common interest to all civil aviation training centres, such as the training implications of the ICAO communications, navigation, surveillance/air traffic management (CNS/ATM) systems. It is anticipated that solutions to common training problems will be advanced as a result of the international co-operation established through these forums.

3.	TRAINAIR Course Development Methodology

3.1	There are two basic characteristics to all courses developed using the TRAINAIR methodology. First, the training is oriented towards the needs of operational organizations. TRAINAIR courses are designed to provide organizations with the appropriately skilled human resources necessary to achieve operational goals. The approach used is systematic in nature. In other words, course developers must consider the entire system in which the graduates will function. Organizational goals change with time. Therefore, TRAINAIR courses are continually evaluated to ensure that they meet the current needs of an organization. Second, TRAINAIR courses are job-oriented. The training developed using the methodology concentrates on helping the trainees perform successfully on the job. To accomplish this, the "need to know" areas of a job are rigorously identified and then emphasized during training, while the "nice to know" areas are minimized. Measurable training objectives are established for each task that a trainee will have to perform on the job. Trainees are then tested by evaluating their ability to perform each job task, as described in the training objectives, using simulators, realistic scenarios or, if possible, actual equipment.

4.	Progress and Growth of TRAINAIR

4.1	Participants. The TRAINAIR Programme has grown steadily since it began operations in 1990. Originally, the Programme consisted of five civil aviation institutions in four States and, at present, comprises twenty-five civil aviation training institutions in twenty-two States.

4.2	The process of establishing a TRAINAIR course development unit within a civil aviation training institute is necessarily time-consuming and resource-intensive: new course developers are trained during a four-week workshop and then typically receive 12 months of on-the-job training before they are considered fully qualified. Thus far, the funds necessary to support the establishment of course development units in States have been provided through technical co-operation projects. TRAINAIR technical co-operation projects provide for the fellowship training necessary to train managers and new course developers in the methodology, provide on-the-job training in the practical use of the methodology and the computer equipment necessary for efficient operation of the course development unit.

4.3	The establishment of the TRAINAIR Programme itself, and the funding of the majority of the TRAINAIR projects to date, have been provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The rate of growth of the programme within States has recently declined as a result of limited UNDP funding. The Technical Co-operation Bureau and the Air Navigation Bureau, through the TRAINAIR Programme, are actively seeking to expand the donor base so that the benefits of the programme can be offered to additional States. Progress has been made in this area. Many of the new TRAINAIR projects have been funded through trust funds or bilaterally-funded projects and the rate at which training centres joined the programme increased significantly in 1996.

5.	Course Material

5.1	The number of completed TRAINAIR Standardized Training Packages (STPs) is a key indicator of the programme's growth. The completion of each STP is a significant accomplishment, as each package is a comprehensive and thoroughly tested training programme in a given topic. To date, a total of thirty-four STPs have been completed and are available to all TRAINAIR members through the sharing system. An additional ten packages have been completed and are presently being validated by the training centres that developed the packages. Once fully tested, these packages will be added to the growing sharing pool of high quality training materials. Participating training institutions are benefitting from the efficiency of the training resource sharing system, as there have already been twenty-three occasions where finalized STPs were exported from one State to another.

6.	Involvement by Developed States

6.1	The TRAINAIR Programme focused its initial efforts almost exclusively on developing States during its first four years of operation. Over the last four years, the focus has broadened. In 1994, the first civil aviation training centre from a developed State joined TRAINAIR, the Nav Canada Training Institute (formerly the Transport Canada Training Institute). Since then, two additional training centres from developed States have joined TRAINAIR and several others are considering future membership. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Academy has been participating in TRAINAIR activities and has offered several training packages for use by TRAINAIR members. In addition, representatives from the Nav Canada Training Institute, the FAA International Assistance Division, the FAA Academy and the Eurocontrol Institute of Air Navigation Services participated in TRAINAIR Co-ordination Conferences and presented valuable papers concerning the training implications of ICAO CNS/ATM systems and advanced training technologies. The involvement by developed States in the programme is considered important. Technology transfer from developed to developing States has already occurred as a result of this involvement. Furthermore, in order to promote training standardization on a global basis, TRAINAIR intends to involve as many States as possible.

7.	Institutionalization of the TRAINAIR Programme

7.1	TRAINAIR began operation in 1990 as a Technical Co-operation Project funded by the United Nations Development Programme. As of 1 January 1993, TRAINAIR became a part of ICAO's Regular Programme. The TRAINAIR Central Unit, which supports the operation and development of the programme, is now an integral part of the Personnel Licensing and Training Section. The major activities of the Central Unit include:

a)	the administration of the TRAINAIR global course sharing system, including operation of the network system and STP quality control;

b)	the provision of direct technical support to the participating civil aviation training institutions, including advice and guidance regarding the introduction of modern training practices and technologies;

c)	the development and implementation of training workshops for course developers, training managers and instructors; and

d)	the organization of regular TRAINAIR co-ordination conferences and course developers seminars.

7.2	An essential role of the TRAINAIR Central Unit is to provide technical support and quality control for all training packages developed by participating institutions. The TRAINAIR Central Unit monitors the development of course materials through regular reports submitted by each member. In addition, technical support missions provide an opportunity for the TRAINAIR Central Unit to work directly with Course Development Units. Once a training package has been completed, the TRAINAIR Central Unit also conducts a complete review to ensure that the materials fully conform to the instructional standards established by TRAINAIR.

8.	Future Activities

8.1	Membership. The programme will continue to seek the involvement of training centres of the developing States. However, it is anticipated that participation by developed States in the programme will become increasingly important. The expanding pool of existing Standardized Training Packages and the need for course development generated by the introduction of CNS/ATM will make TRAINAIR increasingly attractive to Civil Aviation Training Centres (CATCs).

8.2	The TRAINAIR Programme is also an efficient means for developed States to provide assistance to developing States. For example, training technology transferred through the sharing system from developed States will be of immense value to developing States during global implementation and transition to ICAO's CNS/ATM systems.

9.	Involvement by Equipment Suppliers and Commercial Training Organizations

9.1	A significant amount of civil aviation training is developed and/or conducted by commercially operated aviation training centres, airlines and equipment manufacturers/suppliers. To enhance and standardize civil aviation training on a world-wide basis, involvement by these entities should be considered. Many commercial training centres and airlines are already using the systems approach to develop instructional materials. In the future, the programme will seek ways to promote use of the TRAINAIR methodology by commercial entities as a means of improving training and further expanding the availability of high-quality aviation training materials to TRAINAIR members through the sharing system.

10.	CNS/ATM

10.1	The human resource development and training requirements necessary to implement ICAO's CNS/ATM systems have become a major consideration for the TRAINAIR Programme. The last three TRAINAIR Co-ordination Conferences featured two-day seminars dedicated to examining the training implications of the new systems and the use of advanced training technologies in meeting these modern training needs.

10.2	The last TRAINAIR Co-ordination Conference was held at the Nav Canada Training Institute in Cornwall Canada during July of this year. For the first time in the history of the TRAINAIR Programme, a State Letter of invitation (State Letter AN 12/8.2-97/11) ) was sent to all ICAO Contracting States. This conference also addressed the training issues associated with the introduction of new air navigation systems. The theme for the training seminar portion of this conference was "Aviation Training Management Systems for the Future".

10.3	TRAINAIR member civil aviation training centres are actively developing CNS/ATM systems related training packages. Presently, there are three CNS/ATM systems courses under preparation that should be available to TRAINAIR members before the end of 1998.

11.	Conclusions

11.1	The ICAO TRAINAIR Programme is well established and is increasing its membership and activities to assist States in meeting the needs of global civil aviation training. This Programme is an appropriate and timely means to assist States in meeting current and future training demands. Our aviation systems are not static. Consequently, our training systems must adapt to meet changing needs. The TRAINAIR Programme will continue to evolve, as necessary, to best assist in meeting the shared goals of its members.

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