WIT News

WIT and Pilot Training College announce plans for Waterford as aviation ‘centre of excellence’ Posted: Fri, March 5, 2010

Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) and the Pilot Training College (PTC) have just completed a successful promotion of Ireland’s southeast region at the Aerospace & Defence Training Show in Dubai where there has been a major focus on the skills shortage facing the sector. The exhibition was formally opened by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Group Executive Chairman of The Emirates Group , who spoke to delegates of the growing importance of aviation training to the Gulf.

Speaking at the Dubai conference, Professor Kieran R Byrne, President, Waterford Institute of Technology, said: “An increased presence in Waterford and the southeast of trainee pilots will provide not only an economic boost to the region but also a significant opportunity to generate goodwill among men and women who will work around the globe in their professional careers as pilots.

“There is a widespread acceptance that business and leisure travel is set to continue growing across the world in the years ahead. This – coupled with retirements in the western world as the industry matures – presents a major challenge for aviation around maintaining an ample supply of skilled professionals. This challenge is our opportunity and the Institute – along with our partners at The Pilot Training College – is well placed to take advantage of this.

“With training centres in Ireland and the United States, The Pilot Training College has grown over the last decade and, just as they work closely with us in Waterford, their Florida training centre is adjacent to the Florida Institute of Technology School of Aviation. Their aircraft and training facilities are world-class and their training programmes generate considerable additional revenues for service providers and maintenance personnel. We look forward to exploiting the opportunities presented in the Middle East and other regions by the emerging shortage of skilled pilots.

“Extending on this, there are major research, development and innovation opportunities. Aviation growth will require a strong and supportive knowledge base to ensure that policies and provisions are adequate to the challenges ahead. The Institute is well placed to participate in this context and to contribute to the accompanying research economy.”

Captain Mike Edgeworth, Group Executive Chairman, the Pilot Training College, who also addressed delegates at the Dubai Aerospace & Defence Training Show said, “Just under a year ago the highly respected industry magazine Flight Training News said that while the aviation industry has experienced the same difficulties as the rest of the world economy, lead times on ordering new aircraft and training new pilots means that there is a projected global demand for more than 300,000 new airline pilots required between now and 2026 to support fleet growth and pilot retirement.

“Allowing for some slippage on this estimate due to the extraordinary economic circumstances that we have experienced, there will still be demand for tens of thousands of newly trained pilots over the next decade and a half. Our plans for Waterford are to make it a world centre of excellence in the training of these commercial pilots.” 

Captain Edgeworth warned delegates in Dubai of the threat to the supply of qualified pilots in light of significant expansion in demand from airlines in the Middle East and Far East regions combined with large-scale retirements in Europe and North America.

He went on to say: “This is not a tap that can be turned on and off. This has got to be planned for and airlines should be planning well in advance for the delivery of these pilots. One of the major differentiating factors between successful airlines and those that will experience difficulty in the future will be their ability to maintain pilot numbers in line with planned route and aircraft expansion.”

This view was reinforced by many of the region’s leading airlines with one prominent carrier stating that it had a requirement for up to 200 new first officer pilots every year from 2011. “It is critical that we act now as a community of aviation and aerospace professionals, to ensure that we can service the growth in demand in the aviation sector in the not too distant future,” said Captain Edgeworth.

·         Further information is available at www.pilottrainingcollege.com and www.wit.ie