Competency Based Training

[Geoffersincornwall]

A recent conference was held on the subject of pilot training and one contributor made the observation that the current regulations dictate a training regime that was described as 'Inventory Training'.

The assertion was that such training, combined with an out of date licensing system, was not delivering the quality of pilots the industry needs.

The conference was unashamedly 'fixed wing' oriented but I would like to ask if the trainers and managers in particular, and the pilot workforce in general, feel that the current helicopter pilot regime should be replaced by the use of competency-based training and assessment (referred to at the conference as 'evidence-based training). The advocates for such change put forward suggestions that include more scenario-based training to advance CRM along with LOFT based LPCs.

The burning question is 'are we working in the 21st Century with 20th Century ideas and licensing methodology and if so is that good enough? How can we do it better?"


G.

[pilot and apprentice]

I'll bite, at the risk of upsetting the masses.

Yes, scenario based training is a better way to go. Build the specific handling skills up through exercises but then apply them in real world scenarios. Measure performance, tempered with experience, not hours in the logbook. And finally, the captain's ride doesn't happen in the sim. That ride is just a confirmation of what has already been seen on the line. Listen to the people who are out there!

The trend I see, that is pushing me more and more toward leaving the industry (at least as an offshore pilot) is the acceptance of weak and barely competent individuals remaining in the system. HR has put money into recruiting them so they are babied through the intial training or given additional training ad nauseum. The job itself has become so regimented that very little skill is actually needed unless something goes wrong and chances are they will be with someone competent when that happens. No one higher in the food chain than the coal face seems to have the balls to recognize this, accept it, and pull the pin on them.

(Not everyone has the right skill set to do the job safely, and just because I can do it today doesn't mean I will be able to do it forever.)

Eventually the system loses track of the weak, just barely making it, guys or there isn't enough extra resources to protect them and an incident happens. "Just roster him with the experienced co-pilots." "He'll be ok, he'll pick it up on the line." Have you heard that before?

I've been on many bases, with different operators, and one of us has pointed to a pilot and said "that man is going to cause an accident". We don't come to that conclusion lightly, and if we are willing to stand up and tell someone, risk our own reputation, don't you think it is for a reason?

We are told that anyone can be a captain with the right training, or they just need help, or we have a personal axe to grind.

Remember, it isn't just training, it is also CHECKING.

[Shawn Coyle]

Geoffers:
One of the folks from Transport Canada who is now at ICAO was a very strong advocate of competency based training, and last I heard was working to have that accepted.
The recent documents from the RAeS simulator working groups (FW and RW) have a very comprehensive list of tasks that could form the basis for competency based training.
I'll see what I can find out over the next couple of months.

[212man]

To some degree the ATQP concept addresses this but is not as widely adopted as it might ideally be. We certainly favour the LOFT based assessment as a much more realistic indicator of crew performance - including the PM/PNF.