Bob3213
9th Aug 2010, 08:18
Yeah, white pilots get their CPL and jobs handed to them. ...on a plate. Funny how the minds of some people work...
Doors still shut for black pilots
LOCAL pilots have slammed the Government for failing to stop the monopoly white people seem to have in the aviation industry saying twenty years into the country’s independence, there are hardly any black Namibians who have climbed the ladder to the top in this sector.
Namibian pilots who preferred to remain anonymous told the Windhoek Observer the initiative undertaken by the Directorate of Civil Aviation to offer bursaries to previously disadvantaged Namibians wishing to pursue a career in the industry has failed to yield the desired results.
They accuse the bursary selection board of failing to comply with the Affirmative Action Policy by allowing candidates from previously advantaged group to “hijack” the bursaries.
The sources among black pilots said the situation was now so out of hand that Government awards bursaries to foreign nationals.
“You will find that out of for example eight people qualifying for the bursaries, only two are black Namibians. It (the initiative) has failed horrendously,” one pilot commented.
Another pilot added, “It is embarrassing that 20 years down the line we have a very small number of black Namibians flying the A340 or Boeing 737. The Government has failed to take the initiative and train the previously disadvantaged Namibians”.
About 11 years ago the Government introduced a bursary scheme to train Namibians aspiring to become pilots. Annually the Government injects N$5 million into pilot training, but up to now, the country does not have even half the number of qualified pilots needed to serve the industry.
The pilots attribute the failure to obtain accurate figures of graduates from Namibian Aviation Training Academy to a lack of stringent measures to ensure the system is monitored and control is maintained.
Director of Civil Aviation Angeline Simana Paulo confirmed to the Windhoek Observer that the programme has achieved very little.
At its inception, the Namibian Aviation Training Academy had 231 students. Of these, 197 were males and 44 were female. About 108 studied for a Private Pilot’s Licence (PPL), 67 pursued a Commercial Pilot’s Licence (CPL) and 56 enrolled for Student Pilot Licences (SPL). A total of 148 have graduated since the programme started in 2007.
Licensing Inspector from the Directorate of Civil Aviation Graeme Van Niekerk said there are 140 Commercial pilots in the country and 65 airline transport pilots.
The industry needs a minimum of 400 pilots in order to operate at a comfortable level, he said.
Van Niekerk added that Air Namibia’s long-haul A340s has 8 captains and 10 co-pilots while the regional Boeing 737s has 12 captains and 13 co-pilots.
A source told the Windhoek Observer that the A340 has only three black Namibian pilots.
“Based on history we have more whites than blacks in the industry”, Van Niekerk commented.
However, another source contradicted Van Niekerk and claimed, “It is sad but true, that colour plays a role. Individuals at the top are mainly white and they are trying by all means to keep it that way”.
The Director of Civil Aviation told the Windhoek Observer the problems raised by the pilots were real DCA’s, which is why the directorate has decided not to renew the 10-year contract with the Namibian Aviation Training Academy (NATA).
NATA is a subsidiary of the German aviation company Dornier that Government gave the task of training Namibians for their private pilot licences, night rating, instrument rating and commercial pilot licence.
DCA has already put out a tender for another training school to take over, one that would ensure all the loopholes in the current system are closed
Training expensive
There are a number of factors that have contributed to the reasons why there are so few black Namibians in the aviation industry 20 years after Namibia became independent.
One factor that has been emphasised is the costs involved in training. Training to become a pilot at any level is very expensive with a CPL costing between N$250,000 and N$300,000. Training for a pilot’s licence at the entry level costs close to N$60,000.
According to the pilots the Windhoek Observer spoke to, puts the profession out of reach for an average Namibian family.
While they criticised the Government for not monitoring the implementation of its efforts aimed at empowering the previously disadvantaged Namibians in the air-transport industry, the sources said black Namibians are also to blame.
Some of the blacks who have gone through the first stages of pilot training have remained stagnant because they have not advanced their studies and have remained with the domestic fleet for 10 years or more.
The pilots also criticised the lack of a Namibian cadet training initiative, as is the case in South Africa. Under such a programme, young people with potential are identified and trained to become pilots free of charge.
Commercial pilot licence holder Namene Mbumba said it is not easy even for graduates to enter the job market.
For a person to qualify for a commercial licence he or she needs to have 200 flight hours, but aviation companies usually only take pilots who have clocked more hours than that.
Doors still shut for black pilots
LOCAL pilots have slammed the Government for failing to stop the monopoly white people seem to have in the aviation industry saying twenty years into the country’s independence, there are hardly any black Namibians who have climbed the ladder to the top in this sector.
Namibian pilots who preferred to remain anonymous told the Windhoek Observer the initiative undertaken by the Directorate of Civil Aviation to offer bursaries to previously disadvantaged Namibians wishing to pursue a career in the industry has failed to yield the desired results.
They accuse the bursary selection board of failing to comply with the Affirmative Action Policy by allowing candidates from previously advantaged group to “hijack” the bursaries.
The sources among black pilots said the situation was now so out of hand that Government awards bursaries to foreign nationals.
“You will find that out of for example eight people qualifying for the bursaries, only two are black Namibians. It (the initiative) has failed horrendously,” one pilot commented.
Another pilot added, “It is embarrassing that 20 years down the line we have a very small number of black Namibians flying the A340 or Boeing 737. The Government has failed to take the initiative and train the previously disadvantaged Namibians”.
About 11 years ago the Government introduced a bursary scheme to train Namibians aspiring to become pilots. Annually the Government injects N$5 million into pilot training, but up to now, the country does not have even half the number of qualified pilots needed to serve the industry.
The pilots attribute the failure to obtain accurate figures of graduates from Namibian Aviation Training Academy to a lack of stringent measures to ensure the system is monitored and control is maintained.
Director of Civil Aviation Angeline Simana Paulo confirmed to the Windhoek Observer that the programme has achieved very little.
At its inception, the Namibian Aviation Training Academy had 231 students. Of these, 197 were males and 44 were female. About 108 studied for a Private Pilot’s Licence (PPL), 67 pursued a Commercial Pilot’s Licence (CPL) and 56 enrolled for Student Pilot Licences (SPL). A total of 148 have graduated since the programme started in 2007.
Licensing Inspector from the Directorate of Civil Aviation Graeme Van Niekerk said there are 140 Commercial pilots in the country and 65 airline transport pilots.
The industry needs a minimum of 400 pilots in order to operate at a comfortable level, he said.
Van Niekerk added that Air Namibia’s long-haul A340s has 8 captains and 10 co-pilots while the regional Boeing 737s has 12 captains and 13 co-pilots.
A source told the Windhoek Observer that the A340 has only three black Namibian pilots.
“Based on history we have more whites than blacks in the industry”, Van Niekerk commented.
However, another source contradicted Van Niekerk and claimed, “It is sad but true, that colour plays a role. Individuals at the top are mainly white and they are trying by all means to keep it that way”.
The Director of Civil Aviation told the Windhoek Observer the problems raised by the pilots were real DCA’s, which is why the directorate has decided not to renew the 10-year contract with the Namibian Aviation Training Academy (NATA).
NATA is a subsidiary of the German aviation company Dornier that Government gave the task of training Namibians for their private pilot licences, night rating, instrument rating and commercial pilot licence.
DCA has already put out a tender for another training school to take over, one that would ensure all the loopholes in the current system are closed
Training expensive
There are a number of factors that have contributed to the reasons why there are so few black Namibians in the aviation industry 20 years after Namibia became independent.
One factor that has been emphasised is the costs involved in training. Training to become a pilot at any level is very expensive with a CPL costing between N$250,000 and N$300,000. Training for a pilot’s licence at the entry level costs close to N$60,000.
According to the pilots the Windhoek Observer spoke to, puts the profession out of reach for an average Namibian family.
While they criticised the Government for not monitoring the implementation of its efforts aimed at empowering the previously disadvantaged Namibians in the air-transport industry, the sources said black Namibians are also to blame.
Some of the blacks who have gone through the first stages of pilot training have remained stagnant because they have not advanced their studies and have remained with the domestic fleet for 10 years or more.
The pilots also criticised the lack of a Namibian cadet training initiative, as is the case in South Africa. Under such a programme, young people with potential are identified and trained to become pilots free of charge.
Commercial pilot licence holder Namene Mbumba said it is not easy even for graduates to enter the job market.
For a person to qualify for a commercial licence he or she needs to have 200 flight hours, but aviation companies usually only take pilots who have clocked more hours than that.