Training times
 

Recently a question has arisen about the length of training required for the first validation in a rating e.g. approach.

I imagine that it varies a lot based on traffic and complexity/ whether ab-initio or experienced, but I would be interested to know what happens at your unit? Average hours/days/months of sim and OJTI before validation. Also, is it stipulated by the regulator, or just left up to the training and checking departments? Are there minimums as rules/policies?

Impossible to provide an accurate answer. Amount of traffic and local regulations obviously play a part but there are many, many variables. There are minimum experience requirements but in the end it is down to the watch training officers to decide if a candidate should be put forward for validation. Expect many variables on this theme.

For a start in the UK, you can only count 4 hours training per day towards the MER (Minimum Experience Requirement ie minimum training time before you can be put up for an examination for a Certificate of Competence) and the MER is usually something like 120 hours but even this varies according to the complexity of the task and whether you have validated that rating before.
As a 'for instance', when I validated my FISO Lcence, the MER without prior experience is normally 40 hours/4 hours per day to count however as I had already held a valid ADV/ADI Rating on my ATCO Licence, the MER for the FISO was reduced to 20 hours (so I validated in 5 days spread over 3 weeks) whilst if you are doing a one off special event, the MER can be reduced to zero if ATSD decide you have the necessary experience.
You see there are so many variables it's really impossible to say.

I did mention that I realised it will vary a lot.
I am not looking for a single "this is the answer for all units/rating types'.
Just looking for what is currently practiced at your unit, and why.
Is it regulation, is it received wisdom, is it whatever the leaders on the unit think....etc.

I'm gettin g curious now about why you want the information?

The CAA publish basic guidelines (MER, currency periods etc) then each unit has to produce a Unit Training Plan (UTP) based on them which has to be approved by the CAA

At my unit (fairly simple aerodrome) we'd anticipate a trainee (from college) to validate in around 6 months. Obviously that time varies with standard of trainee/standard of on-unit instruction/"cross-training"/training reviews but that would be the 'normal' amount of time.
Trainees who have experience at other units (whether they've validated there or not) would generally be anticipated to validate from 3 months onwards.
Trainees who have returned to my unit from various periods at other units may validate in a month or so...depends largely on how they get on and what level of training they are assessed at shortly after returning.
Lots of variables but those are 'normal' time periods historically.

Good egg: Thanks, that's exactly the sort of info I'm after.

Chevvron: Yes, exactly. The publicly available documents for the UK (for eg.) don't have hard numbers- they (the CAPs) stipulate they must be in the UTPs accepted by the CAA. But finding out what those hard numbers are within the actual UTPs is difficult.

Where I work, the regulator has recently stipulated hard numbers as minimums which have generated a lot of discussion.

We use hours

Have done for a long time.
Cant remember where it came from, but fairly sure I can think of why we moved .


Also I think there are changes to DOC9868 in November.

This may have what you are looking for.