So the dude with the dreadlocks didn't get the 'job' after all...

[HeliStudent]

The teenager, from Gornal, in Dudley, was struggling to find work when he spotted an advert for his dream role on the Government job centre website for a trainee pilot.

He said: “I was searching for a job for about five months and was finding it really tough in the current climate. I went to college and studied to become an electrician, but after I finished nobody was recruiting even though I had all the qualifications.

“Ever since I was young I have wanted to be a pilot but I didn’t think it would be possible because of the costs involved.

“One day I decided to look into it and that was when I came across the advert for a trainee helicopter pilot.

“I decided to apply, not really thinking I would get it, but after undergoing a flight test I was told I had been successful.”

Lift-off for Dudley teenager with dream job as a helicopter pilot « Express & Star (http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2013/09/05/lift-off-for-dudley-teenager-with-dream-job-as-a-helicopter-pilot/)

[firebird_uk]

Let's hope the Express & Star do a "where are they now" feature in 3 years time. That would be a far more interesting read!

[RPM AWARE]

"Will wearings 'dreads' diminish my chances in this process ?"....question answered

Lift-off for Dudley teenager with dream job as a helicopter pilot « Express & Star (http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2013/09/05/lift-off-for-dudley-teenager-with-dream-job-as-a-helicopter-pilot/)

[spinwing]

Mmmmm ...

An extremely LUCKY young man ... I do hope he makes the best of it ... AND totally enjoys the process ...

Good Luck .... :ok:

[206Fan]

Lucky chap indeed. All the very best to him :D

[1969shelby]

Wow, that's great. You would never see such an opportunity like this here in the USA. Good luck to this very fortunate young man.

[Ascend Charlie]

Maybe that IS the dreadlocked dude, who took the advice of the Prooners and cut his hair and put on a clean shirt?

[Capetonian]

I wondered the same thing, but I suspect not!

[Max Shutterspeed]

Good for him! I imagine the reasoning behind the company's decision is that they're training up a known quantity over a period of time and in the long term they get exactly the person they need.

[RPM AWARE]

...that's suggests then that this lucky guy is contracted to SH for "the long term"...

[topendtorque]

Having a trade behind him was an excellent idea. "On the weekend, mate - ahh - the wiring in the hangar is a bit dodgy". Plumbers and chippes are likewise high value people.
Good luck to him a role model now for many others.

[Bravo73]

I hope that he likes washing & polishing aircraft...

[misterbonkers]

Oh bravo what snobbery! That's how some of us started off in the industry - helping out, mucking in, getting to know folk - it's a great solid way to establish yourself in the industry.

Good luck to the young man.

[misterbonkers]

I pity your FOs!

[RPM AWARE]

Well anyway, I just don't get it...

Why would this company give him £50,000 worth of ab initio to CPL(H) training AND pay him a salary during the meanwhile.....what's in it for them, when there are already plenty of out of work CPL(H)s out there ??

I don't see how this holds water "they're training up a known quantity over a period of time and in the long term they get exactly the person they need." unless he's never allowed to leave SH and take his qualifications with him...

Strange..:hmm:

[Captain Cashmere]

"Will wearings 'dreads' diminish my chances in this process ?"

....question answered


bit presumptuous assuming he didn't get the job just because of his haircut.

[grumpytroll]

"Wow, that's great. You would never see such an opportunity like this here in the USA. Good luck to this very fortunate young man."

Shelby,

Ever heard of a little organization called the United States Army?

They have offered a better service than this to tens of thousands of Americans over the years. I was one of them.

[206Fan]

Due to our success we are now recruiting across the UK for 80 Trainee Helicopter Valeters to join our team no previous experience necessary as full training will be given, if you like the outdoors or have a passion for flying and would like to earn up to £375 per day please email us your C.V. you must also own a vehicle car/van. If successful one of our recruitment team will contact you.Slight typo error there I'd say!

[1969shelby]

Grumpytroll, the military is not an option for every aspiring aviator.

[grumpytroll]

There is no option available for every aspiring aviator. The article on this thread clearly stated that 500 people applied for this opportunity and only one got it.

My comment is just a reminder that the United States offers opportunities for most anyone to do anything they want if they are willing to put forth the effort. Much more opportunity than any where else on earth.

I have been blessed with opportunities presenting themselves both military and civilian and have put forth the effort. I came from very humble beginnings.

Again, to say that opportunities for pilots aren't offered in the U.S. is just plain silly. The flight schools, and there are hundreds, are full of aspiring aviators from the U.S. and dozens of other countries.

Cheer up and Cheers!

[Matari]

'69shelby,

It takes some effort to be successful. A journey begins with the first step. Do some research, sell the Xbox, pull up your socks, and get going.

Aviation Scholarships (http://www.faa.gov/education/student_resources/scholarships_grants/aviation_scholarships/)

[Max Shutterspeed]

I don't see how this holds water "they're training up a known quantity over a period of time and in the long term they get exactly the person they need." unless he's never allowed to leave SH and take his qualifications with him...

That was just my thoughts, not a comment from the company. I imagine they pretty much 'own' him now and he'll be contracted to work for a period or pay back his training should he leave.

[stingerdinger]

Just found this:

https://m.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=712879418728932&id=131820176834862

Not good. I do feel sorry for the victims of this scheme who probably now think the helicopter industry is full of crooks :(

SD

[Bravo73]

Just found this:

https://m.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=712879418728932&id=131820176834862

Not good. I do feel sorry for the victims of this scheme who probably now think the helicopter industry is full of crooks :(

SD

Here's the quoted text (in case the link gets deleted):

Helicopter Pilot Jobs (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Helicopter-Pilot-Jobs/131820176834862?ref=stream) · 5,474 like this.
25 August at 13:57 (https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=712879418728932&id=131820176834862) ·

An update on the "trainee pilot" position being offered by Senior Helicopters in the UK. We had another concerned person contact us today and they had actually paid the £290 fee they asked. This is her story, which we have permission to publish. Senior Helicopters are now advertising for the same role but in a different part of England. If you are thinking about applying, read this first.

hi,ive just came across an article on here, (be it a little late)
i applied for the senior helicopter pilot job and paid the £290 test fee, to which i attended, then to be told i was unsuccessful, when i messaged for the test results i received no correspondence, i see they are now adversing the same post in Chester, have i been conned ?? do you have any advice on reporting them or to recoup my costs ? any help would be very much appreciated.

We replied

thanks for getting back to me,
it was actually my daughter who went for this, she was 16 at the time of test but is now 17, after 4 years in the ATC (air training corps) she talked me into paying this, although she was there a good 4 hours, so were 10 other people, they had an hour briefing telling them how and what to do and then they all had about 10 minutes flight time, they were told a report would be written up and passed onto the company (senior aviations, the test supposedly an independent party, hence cost involved) who would be in touch, 2 weeks later she had a standard sorry you were unsuccessful email, when she asked for a copy of the report there was no response that was 2 weeks ago.
i feel very stupid right now

We replied

Thanks again for response, that sure put it into perspective, I have now contacted the police and CAA, hopefully they will investigate and save some one else been caught out, I will keep you posted


So, £290 for 10 minutes flying. Hmmm, so there's the con. :mad:

[stingerdinger]

So the several hundred "unsuccessful" applicants are paying for the dude's salary and training. Oh dear. :ugh:

Thinking about it do Senior Aviation even have an approval to conduct flight training? I don't see them listed on Standards Document 31 (http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=33&pagetype=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=2854).

SD

[The Night Owl]

Was it 500 applicants?? - each paying £290:ooh:

[Ian Corrigible]

Is Ryanair somehow involved...? :E

I/C

[Bravo73]

Thinking about it do Senior Aviation even have an approval to conduct flight training? I don't see them listed on Standards Document 31 (http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=33&pagetype=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=2854).


According to some of the comments on that facebook page (including from one of the instructors involved), they have subcontracted the training (and the 'assessments' IIRC) to Austin Aviation: helicopter pilot training, air experience flights, pleasure trips over the Welsh Mountains, heli-lunches at grand hotels, or executive and business helicopter charter charter, self fly hire ,lpc,cplh,pplh,type rating austin aviation can help. (http://www.austinaviation.co.uk/)

And yes, there are distinct similarities between the Senior Aviation website and the Austin Aviation website. :suspect:

[stingerdinger]

That may be the case but I don't see Austin Aviation in Standards Document 31 either. In fact there is no rotary ATO listed at Halfpenny Green, so not sure how they intend to put the guy through to CPL unless they're going to send him to another school!

SD

[flying 999]

My son was the lucky one to get the job!.....or as it turned out the very unlucky one to have been selected by an unscrupulous organisation.........
He was given very little actual flight training, or proper coaching, and was even asked to continue signing on for job seekers allowance after starting the job! He was paid just £100 per week after being led to believe it would be £250 per week.......He was recently called in to sit an exam with no prior notice, and then told he had failed the exam and therefore no longer required! he had been told that this was just a basic first test paper, and that he could resit it if necessary. No explanation has been offered despite requesting this in writing!
He has also confirmed that very many prospective trainees being tested on a regular basis and all receive just 10 minutes flight time at a cost of £290 each....despite there supposedly being two trainee positions available, none have since been filled! This is a scam that nets this unscrupulous company an awful lot of money, whilst dashing the hopes of young vulnerable people.

[robinsonFlyer]

My son was the lucky one to get the job!.....or as it turned out the very unlucky one to have been selected by an unscrupulous organisation.........
He was given very little actual flight training, or proper coaching, and was even asked to continue signing on for job seekers allowance after starting the job! He was paid just £100 per week after being led to believe it would be £250 per week.......He was recently called in to sit an exam with no prior notice, and then told he had failed the exam and therefore no longer required! he had been told that this was just a basic first test paper, and that he could resit it if necessary. No explanation has been offered despite requesting this in writing!
He has also confirmed that very many prospective trainees being tested on a regular basis and all receive just 10 minutes flight time at a cost of £290 each....despite there supposedly being two trainee positions available, none have since been filled! This is a scam that nets this unscrupulous company an awful lot of money, whilst dashing the hopes of young vulnerable people.


Oh dear :-(

I wrote on the other thread (entitled 'senior Aviation / Austin Aviation') that this was a very dubious scheme.

I don't know how to link the other thread in this message, but if you scroll down the list of messages in this forum, you'll see the other posting where several comments have been made.

Reminds me of the dubious bogus modelling agencies, telling wannabe girls that they have a shot at modelling, so long as they paid extortionate fees for some photos and never get any work.

May I suggest that you contact the newspaper reporter who covered your son's story and make them aware of these postings on this forum and how they were 'used' by senior helicopters to bring a degree of legitimacy to this scheme by using a patsy reporter.

Perhaps 'trading standards' need to be informed too?

Sorry this happened to your son.

[206Fan]

http://www.pprune.org/rotorheads/524976-senior-aviation-austin-aviation.html

[Max Shutterspeed]

Sadly, it's a mirror image of the 'motorsport scholarship' scam. You each pay up several hundred pounds for race track training over several months, the winner getting a 'fully funded' race drive the following season.

Perhaps the newspaper that ran the original article might like to do some investigative journalism on a follow up?

[HLCPTR]

Which all goes to prove that there is no such thing as "FREE"!

If it sounds too good to be true..... it usually is.

:(

[Bravo73]

My son was the lucky one to get the job!.....or as it turned out the very unlucky one to have been selected by an unscrupulous organisation.........
He was given very little actual flight training or coaching, and spent most of his time taking other prospective trainees to the helipad watching them take ten minute flight tests at a cost of £290 each! He was also asked to continue signing on for job seekers allowance after starting this job, and was paid just £100 per week when the trainee position is actually advertised at £250 per week!
After one month of watching hundreds of other hopeful trainees paying £290 each, he then questioned Austin Aviation as to why no one else had been appointed, but they offered no explanation. Shortly afterwards he was called in at an hour’s notice to sit an exam, for which he had very little prior coaching, but told not to worry as he could retake it if unsuccessful the first time. He then received an email stating he had failed the exam and was no longer required! No other explanation has been offered and they will not answer any enquiries regarding his position! This is a scam that nets this unscrupulous company an awful lot of money, whilst dashing the hopes of young vulnerable people. My advice to everyone is to not get taken in by this scam as there is no dream job at the end of a very short interview which will cost you £290 for the privilege!

Have you contacted the journalist who interviewed your son for the Express & Star article? Unfortunately, the online edition of the article (see the link above) doesn't include a byline.

However, the email for the News Desk is [email protected] and the email for the editor (Keith Harrison) is [email protected]

I also think that it would be worth contacting a national newspaper and BBC Watchdog: https://ssl.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mg74/contact

[nomorehelosforme]

I do feel sorry for the potential student, high hopes suddenly shot down in flames by a scam! As suggested have this investigated, maybe a real company might want to step in and give him a chance, even if he has to start by cleaning machines!!!

[Matari]

Back to the OP's original post: Ironic that the kid with the dreadlocks may very well be a more upstanding and honest character, than the starched-shirt, gold-braid, buttoned-down appearing 'managers.'

[choppertop]

I think that it would be worth contacting a national newspaper

Wait a second... we think journalists are the love children of Satan don't we?

[Bravo73]

Wait a second... we think journalists are the love children of Satan don't we?

Nope. Only certain journalists... :E