The QGPA was mentioned in the Aviation White Paper, released last month. On pages 97-98, it has this to say about the academy (emphasis mine):
In January 2020, the Qantas Group established the Qantas Group Pilot Academy, run in partnership with
Flight Training Adelaide, which can train 250 pilots per year. However, the cost to individuals of completing
pilot training at the academy is approximately $140,000, plus accommodation costs, and takes up to
16 months. Students at the academy can access Australian Government VET student loans. Graduation
from the Qantas Group Pilot Academy does not guarantee a job with a Qantas Group airline. However, in
its Aviation White Paper submission, Qantas states a number of graduates have been employed within the
group. The Qantas Group has advised that over the next 5 years it will offer 50 scholarships to women and
First Nations people to support the cost of onsite accommodation at the academy. Given Qantas’s estimated
need for 4,000 pilots over the next 10 years, it must do more to create a sustainable pilot pipeline.
The Qantas Group in particular – as Australia’s largest employer of pilots – should recommence
offering cadetship places to newly qualified pilots, which could include a direct employment pathway
for a percentage of graduates of the Qantas Group Pilot Academy, similar to the Rex direct entry model.
International examples such as British Airways’ Speedbird Pilot Academy, which funds up to 60 places per
year and guarantees a job as a British Airways pilot for graduates, also provide a useful model for Australia’s
large airlines to consider.
The Minister for Transport has written to the Qantas Group and Virgin Australia asking them to advise how
they will increase pilot training and career development to support a sustainable pipeline of Australian pilots
and minimise the impact on smaller aviation businesses during pilot shortages. If the airlines fail to put in
place appropriate arrangements, the Australian Government will consider other options, such as a levy on
large Australian airlines to fund pilot training and cadetships.
It will be interesting to see where this leads.