Successful ICAO classroom training educates new group of course instructors, JAA TO Director co-instructs in company premiere
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Schiphol-Rijk, The Netherlands. September 20, 2021. Fourteen aviation professionals participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) TRAINAIR PLUS - Training Instructor Course (TIC 2) – the first classroom training since the JAA Training Organisation (JAA TO) reopened its headquarters in September. JAA TO Director Paula Almeida, MEd, co-instructs this course as an ICAO-qualified TIC-2 instructor. Edlira Kraja, Executive Director of Civil Aviation Authority of Albania, is the first Director to complete a JAA TO TIC-2 training – details on the motivation and outlook of Albanian aviation can be read in the below interview:
JAA TO: Mrs Kraja, it is not your first training with the JAA TO, you have completed many courses with us before, but it is your first visit to the new JAA TO headquarters, also in your capacity as Executive Director of Albanian Civil Aviation. Welcome! What are your first impressions and how was it to meet face-to-face with other aviation specialists?
EK: Thank you. Being at the new JAA TO location is great, the facility provides lots of space and it is a good learning environment for other trainees. While the training itself was demanding, the instructor and we as group of students made the learning a success. Some fellow trainees are already working as professional instructors and learning from their experience was a good opportunity throughout this course.
JAA TO: The ICAO TRAINAIR PLUS - Training Instructor Course - Part 2 (TIC 2), partly developed by JAA TO, is a comprehensive, competency-based trainer’s course to develop and professionalize own aviation capacity building via Standardized Training Packages (STPs). What are your key lessons from the training (also in your role as Executive Director) and how can Albanian aviation benefit from these takeaways?
EK: The competency-based ICAO method is the standard for building training capacity in one’s own aviation system. In Albania, we want to expand resources on training and facilitation because the industry as well as authority needs instructors to ensure safe and secure operations. From discussion and relations with the industry operators, it is understood that having national training organisations in Albania might be useful and interesting. The knowledge and skills gained today can be used to develop our own in house training modules taught in basic courses customised for our specific organisations or industry.
JAA TO: COVID-19 brought many challenges to aviation as we know it. What are important next steppingstones to reinstate and regulate safety, security and compliance between the European and global air transport systems? Which experiences can Albanian aviation share with the European community from its relaunch?
EK: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Albanian aviation sector followed recommendations from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and ICAO in relation to health safety and aviation safety. Responsible and compliant operations according to these multilateral recommendations are vital for every state’s recovery of the air transport sector. Albania is a remarkable country in regards to [the] fast recovery of the industry from the pandemic. Tirana International Airport has overcome a 10% (July) and 30% (August) growth of flights compared to the previous best year before the pandemic (2019). The experience of dealing with a high number of foreign airlines during the pandemic is used to accelerate our focus on safe operations in air travel and tourism under the new normal paradigm.
Besides the everyday operations, the aviation system in Albania could progress as well, based on solid government strategic objectives in infrastructure investments (new Vlora International Airport and the successful opening of the new Kukës International Airport Zayed, N.B. by author) which boosted air transport connectivity in these special times.*
About the training:
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) TRAINAIR PLUS - Training Instructor Course (TIC 2), developed in cooperation with JAA Training Organisation (JAA TO), enables participants to methodically conduct training courses in accordance with ICAO’s instructor competencies and develop the required training strategies for course delivery and capacity-building.
###
Contact Info
Joint Aviation Authorities Training Organisation (JAA TO)
Beechavenue 1 – 19, 1119RA Schiphol-Rijk, The Netherlands
Phone +31 (0) 23 56 79 721
Karl Schreiber, Marketing Communications Officer, communications@jaato.com
*) The interview has been adjusted from its original to follow British grammar.