As per the ICAO Civil Aviation Training Policy, the TRAINAIR PLUS Programme is recognizing Training Organizations through an assessment process. Upon application to the programme, Training Organizations shall be assessed by ICAO according to the specific requirements of the TRAINAIR PLUS Programme. Organizations compliant with such requirements shall be recognized as TRAINAIR PLUS Members.
A key element of the TRAINAIR PLUS Programme lies in its networking and exchange mechanism. Exchange of training packages, of training courses, of instructional staff… This exchange mechanism is only achievable if all members use the same approach in course development methodology, and if they all meet and share minimum quality criteria as set by ICAO.
Objectives of the assessment and re-assessment
The main objective of the assessment of a training organization is to analyze and determine its capability to become a Member of the TRAINAIR PLUS Programme and assess its capability to use STPs developed by other Members. It provides a clear and independent vision of the operations within a training organization and highlights critical areas requiring improvements.
The assessment process has been implemented in the programme with the objective of supporting its members vis-à-vis their Civil Aviation Authorities or any other level of government. The official ICAO report resulting from the assessment usually helps training organizations to justify additional funding in order to purchase new equipment required to improve the quality of training, as evaluated by ICAO and presented in the report.
The main objective of the re-assessment is to ensure that the corrective actions resulting from the previous assessment have been correctly implemented, and that potential changes in the operations of the training organization since the previous assessment are not impacting the quality of training delivered.
As indicated in the
TPOM, re-assessments are mandatory for each TRAINAIR PLUS Member every three years from the date of its initial assessment. This allows ICAO to maintain an oversight on the quality and on the TRAINAIR PLUS activities of the training organization, thus ensuring that all Members continue to meet the established requirements.
Assessment scope and criteria
The TRAINAIR PLUS Programme strives to achieve standardization and uniformity in the scope, depth and quality of the assessments conducted. In order to ensure that all training organizations are assessed in a consistent and objective manner, standardized assessment criteria and protocols have been developed to guide the assessor and the training organization through the assessment process.
The TRAINAIR PLUS assessment criteria are based on three ICAO reference documents:
The assessment covers the following eight (8) critical areas of the operations of a training organization:
Assessment process
The assessment process covers four distinct phases:
Pre-assessment
Once the application has been received via the TRAINAIR PLUS Electronic Management System (TPEMS), the Global Aviation Training (GAT) Office will review all information and documentation provided and decide if the organization can be considered as a potential candidate for the TRAINAIR PLUS Programme. If it is the case, the GAT Office will approve the application and the Training Assessments and Consulting (TAC) Unit will contact the candidate training organization to coordinate a proposed schedule and timing for the on-site assessment.
Self-assessment
Once ICAO approves the application of the candidate training organization, the applicant receives a link to fill a self-assessment questionnaire in the TPEMS. The form includes numerous questions reviewing the scope of the assessment. The system directs the training organization to answer each question while providing as an attachment the evidence for reference. It is mandatory that the training organization completes this phase before proceeding to the on-site assessment. It is a key element of the assessment process and has a strong and direct impact on the time that will be necessary to spend on-site.
On-site assessment
Once ICAO is notified that the self-assessment phase has been completed, the assessor reviews all material and evidence submitted by the training organization to prepare the on-site phase of the assessment process. This phase consists on a three (3) to four (4) day on-site assessment to the training centre conducted by an assessor of the GAT Office. During this phase, he/she will visit the facilities in order to ensure that they match the description received, and she/he will observe that the current operations of the training organization are conducted along the same lines as described in the various documents provided during the self-assessment phase.
The on-site assessment phase is conducted via the TPEMS, and it is therefore essential to ensure that the assessor has internet access during his/her visit. When reviewing and discussing each question with the training organization, the assessor has the possibility to select four options for each of the questions:
The question does not apply to the training organization: the assessor will then indicate "Non-Applicable".
The response provided by the training organization is satisfactory and the evidence supports the response: the assessor will then indicate "Satisfactory".
The response provided by the training organization is not to the satisfaction of the assessor: the assessor will then indicate "Non-Satisfactory" and this will result in two possibilities:
- Finding Category Two: the process or service does not meet the requirements of the protocol specifications but is not critical to safety-related matters and does not affect notably the quality of the training. A "finding category two" does not require a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) and the training organization has a period of three years to resolve this matter. Only comments to the observation is required. Only if during a reassessment the assessor issues the same "finding category two", then it will generate a "finding category one".
- Finding Category One: the process or service does not meet the requirements of the protocol specifications, is critical to safety-related matters and does affect notably the quality of the training. The training organization must consequently prepare a CAP and evidence of its implementation becomes a prerequisite to the granting of TRAINAIR PLUS Membership.
Post-assessment
The post-assessment phase encompasses all activities following the on-site assessment leading to the granting of TRAINAIR PLUS membership. Those are mainly covering the follow-up of the CAP (if any) and its implementation. The CAP and evidence of its implementation must be validated by the assessor, who will work in close cooperation with the training organization to conclude this phase.
If "finding category one" have been identified by the assessor, the CAP provided by the training organization must specify actions taken and planned, together with a date of implementation. Upon execution of the CAP, the training organization must submit clear evidence of its full implementation to ICAO in the form of an implementation report via the TPEMS.
Once the assessor has validated the CAP and its satisfactory implementation, the ICAO Assessment Report will be generated by the TPEMS. This report becomes the official ICAO report validating the assessment process and completing the last phase of this process. At this stage, the training organization is granted TRAINAIR PLUS membership.
