Aviation Australia Certificate II in Flight Operations (Cabin Crew)
 

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone out here may be able to give me some insight.

Im considering doing the Flight Attendant Course with Aviation Australia in January after I turn 18 to try and increase my chances of making it to Jetstar or Virgin Australia.

Now, it is $5000 for 8 weeks full time so I'm wondering if it is going to be worth my while, because I'd still have to do all the ground school stuff if I get accepted anyway.

Like I said, I'm not sure how much it will increase my chances of being accepted if I have done this course, but maybe someone out there may know something more than me about it.

Thanks all!

Save your $$$$
 

If you want to become a flight attendant get a job in customer service. What they look for is customer service experience and life experience. If you want to know more look up the Airlines website directly to find out what they require. You might want to check that the Airlines you want to apply for actually recognise this certificate. As you mentioned Airlines do their own training any way.

Hi VHMJG

I am sure there are positives and negatives to doing the Certificate II course with Aviation Australia, however will it do anything for you to get a job with the airlines, no.

If you attend a recruitment day with VB or QF you will go through exactly the same process that anyone who has not completed ths course will have to do, the only advantage maybe you may have had a chance to prepare and have your answers well rehersed however remember these recruiters interview 100's of people and they know awell rehersed answer when they hear it.

Also yes airlines will train you to their expectations and standards, so you won't avoid the ground school or an assessment centre recruitment day

If you want practice with preparing for interviews out there plenty of companies that do this for much less than $5,000

I know 2 people who did this course in anticipation of getting work they are still hopefuls 12 months after completing the course.

I am not knocking the course I am sure there are benefits to it, and there are airlines like strategic that will take people who have completed the course, as they want to save costs on training, but from what i have heard about this they still have to do ground schools.

Ultimately look at your work history customer service and hospitality, and your own abilities is what will see you achieve your dream not this course. Of course it's up to you

Best of luck, but really the course won't guarantee you this job

Thanks guys,

I know that JQ and DJ do not require the Cert II but I have this theory that they may recognize that I've gone to the extra trouble to get where I want to be...

I currently work at Hungry Jacks (have been for the past year), worked at Maccas for a year and am also doing a Cert III in Financial Services and working at the Bendigo Bank as part of that- so I've got a fair bit of work experience.

You need face-to-face Customer Service experience that's what the Airlines look for. Don't try and re-invent the wheel when it comes to Cabin Crew recruitment. there are plenty of people before you who have tried. Save your money. You will need it if you do eventually get a job. Medical assesments, drug and alcohol screening, airside pass, shoes, make-up, hair, car parking, training, uniforms, transport to work etc...etc are the types of things you may have to pay for. Customer service experience and life experience just focus on that for now.

The above posts are all absolutely right. Don't go wasting your money on an expensive course that is not required for any airline's cabin crew selection (that I know of). Airline recruiters will place a lot more emphasis on your work experience and how your present at the interview, not whether or not you've done a training course. Experience is the key!! Try to get some experience where you get longer interactions with customers, for example working in a hotel or restaurant, because at your interview you will be asked about how you've handled different situations with customers. There are courses out there that teach you interview techniques and preparation. These courses are very short and relatively inexpensive and are very good for preparing you for the interview and having some extra confidence on the day.

Got a job thanks to Aviation Australia
 

Hello,

I am not going to say that you can't get a job without the course but for me that was why I got the job in the end.

I graduated from Aviation Australia nearly 2 years ago now. I went through 3 assesment days and finally got a job as a flight attendant and I am loving it so much that I don't regret one dollar I spent for my Certificate II.

Airlines do look for specific things. Working at Hungry Jacks and McDonalds is definitely a plus. They regard it as if you understand what working in a team means and also they like the training they offer. However, there are so many of other things they are looking for. At Aviation Australia , they prepare to interviews and are really close to the reality. Everytime, I went to interviews, I already knew almost every questions I was been asked. The questions I have never been asked made sense though and it was easier to turn them around to get a right answer. Aviation Australia doesn't give you answers to those questions but they coach you on what it is been looked for in each questions. You have to make your own answers, and you will be corrected where you are not answering properly to the question. You will be the one making your answers but.

At the interview with the airline I am working for now, it was easier to feel myself as I didn't have to stress to much about how the interview was going to happen. I got a call for a second interview. We were 2 candidates to be called back for only one position in our base. The other candidate was a supervisor for a check-in company and I thought I wouldn't have a chance against her. At the end of my second interview, they asked me how I would go doing ground-school and I proudly replied that I already did very well at Aviation Australia and I was sure I would do the same at their ground school. A few weeks later, I was the one receiving an invitation for Ground School.

Also, Aviation Australia gives you all the aviation vocabulary and train you on things you will never forget. Every time you will go through a ground school, it will be easier. Ground Schools are really stressful and very concentrated. I was so pleased that I was already familiarised with most of it. Of course, I still had to learn some differences, but it was a lot easier. Don't forget that being accepted to go to ground school is one thing, but passing it is another. We were 10 at the begining and only 7 to finish...

I know a lot of flight attendants who got jobs without having the certificate II and they all had something that could attract airlines... I didn't have the work experience the airlines were after but the certificate surely gave me in two months the years of customer service experience I didn't have...

The main thing for interviews is smiling !!! It is really hard to smile when you are terrified of not getting what you want the most... If you are already familiar with the aviation world, it surely takes some stress off your face and help you smile...

It worked for me... Others probably didn't need it... But I probably wouldn't have got the job without it, so it is up to you to make your choice !

Also, Aviation Australia will show you what the possibilities are, what the job is and you will know more than ever if it is really what you feel like becoming... And Aviation Australia is always here for you after the training... You also will have new friends who are looking for work as well and it so much easier when you have friends doing it with you. At Aviation Australia, they always give you time or help with your job search, for as long as you need them... The job isn't guaranteed but serious graduates will never feel alone when looking for a job !

We were about 18 doing the course. 2 of us were overseas students and I don't know what they are doing now. 1 of us is ill. 2 or 3 realised that it wasn't for them... some others didn't hang in job search for long enough and 8 of us got a job as a flight attendant... If you know from deep in your heart that flight attendant is the only thing you want to do, there is no reason why you wouldn't become one. Just keep in mind, that the training doesn't give you the job, it only helps getting it if it is what you really want to do...

I hope this would give you answers about what if feels like to be a graduate from Aviation Australia.

;)

agree.... save the $$$
 

BTS, great that you got the job you love, but to be honest, they probably would have hired you anyway. NOt all airlines hire only experienced people.

I was in a smiliar position once, was like banging my head on a brick wall trying to get any interviews, I ended up actually doorknocking the airlines with CV in hand, working my way around the airport and sending emails to cabin crew managers asking if they would give me some advice regarding my experience and whether they thought it was enough.

To be honest the interview part you can get just the same by going to a good job support centre (most Centrelink offices have the contact details) you might need to provide them with some aviation-specifi interview questions but usually they will be more than happy to give you a coaching session or two. I found at least two to three hundred questions on the internet, If you have been to uni or tafe in the past, they will usually provide you some interview coaching & CV help as well.

In my opinion, the only real advantage that AA have is connections- they know people and in this industry that is gold.

My break came funnily enough, through a travel agent who happened to know one of the crew managers at a local airline and then a chance meeting with another cabin manager while waiting around the airport to catch the same flight.

I think you'd be far better off to save the $5000, do the required courses, spend it on a good suit for your interview, and maybe even take a short trip somewhere overseas to pick up a bit of culture & experience. Even if you haven't worked in the airlines before, travel is a great eye opener & shows independence and that you can cope on your own.

I have worked with a couple of AA 'graduates' in the past- one of them spent a LONG time looking for a cabin crew job & eventually went on to something else as they got discouraged having spent all that money to show nothing, the other flew for 2 airlines for about a year then left to have a baby I think. So, it can work for some but I would say do it as a last resort. Give yourself a year to go it your way then try the course.

I do remember someone mentioning here quite a while back that a local Tafe college somewhere had or was going to have a cabin crew course, very similar to what AA does, with access to cabin mockups and a tie-up with a local airline, don't know where or who but could be useful to Google- Tafe will be much much more cost effective as they are not really run for profit.

Good luck!

Well done
 

Between the stars, well done on getting your dream job! I have to agree with what giveme wings said though. In reality you would have probably got there in the end. Really the interviews come done to whether you are on, on the day, meaning your either on or your not.

I never did the AA course and neither have many of the others I fly with in the industry, really I say save the $5k, spend it on something you want

I know a few people who did the course and they are still trying. The reality is airlines like VB, QF, JQ, won't recognise the course and whethet you are an AA graduate or someone like me who walked in 'off the streets' so to speak. They look at how you perform at the assessment days, how you answer the behavioural based questions thats it.

There are 2 airlines out there that look favourably on AA grad's Strategic and Adagold, both charter airlines and it's a way for them to save costs on training although you still have to do your training with them

I am not knocking the course, as I said in my early post, i am sure there are benefits to it, and I am glad you succeeded in your dreams and reality is you were the lucky one that graduated, but honestly i'd spend $5k on my next holiday or something i want and that's what i would be telling anyone who thought about investing in it

Seriously…Don’t waste your money on AA. Get a job at Maccas or Subway for a year and earn a wage and get experience instead of pissing away thousands of dollars for a piece of paper. Most commercial airlines require some hands on customer service experience before even looking at an application.

There seems to be an understanding amongst students at AA that “all” students will land a flying a job once they have graduated…this is often not the case.

The standard of student that comes out of AA is questionable. Most are very young with no customer service experience and lack life experience and have a very poor demeanour. :yuk:

The typical female AA graduate will rock up to an interview wearing a scarf, have a ridiculous amount of make up on (clearly this is what they are told to do at the school), and due to no actual ‘real’ customer service experience is completely unable to answer the most basic questions. :ugh:

Like all potential cabin crew wannabes there are some that have ‘it’ and clearly some that just don’t cut it. I am not bagging out all former AA students, as some do make the cut and have developed successful flying careers, but I would say 95% of them stick out like sore thumbs.

Issues like cart handling skills, and the fear of dry ice and the inability to think outside the square come to mind as well. :rolleyes:

Also, Strategic once upon a time did recruit from AA during their initial Portuguese Airbus operation, however I am pretty sure they haven’t hired from AA in a couple of years now.

Aviation Australia
 

Well said DitchSwitch

I sadly have to agree with you, students who do the AA course (at least the ones i have seen) all have a mentality I have done this AA course and I will have the job, and sadly not the case.

Sadly i also agree that many of the ones that attend interviews are ? at best (not personally attacking them), its just a reality that i have come accross many that come accross pleasant at the interview process and they have the true "barby or ken" doll look and attitude, however when they are in the industry it's like their whole personality has changed

then again in saying that - thats not just associated with AA students (before everyone comes back from AA attacking me), its just been my observation and there are plenty of students from AA that are good sadly just not alot

Its what happens when a private company makes $5k per student for their courses no one cares who comes in as long as they have the $$.......
students are all under the impression they will be successful in this course and their careers the only way i can see this happen is if AA starts their own airline.

like i said the course is not necesaary if it was airlines would insist on it being completed before you applied, and they will train you in their procedures and to their way

best of luck

At the end of the day ask this company one question:

"Which airlines in Australia formally recognise and endorse your course?".

There is no point having a $5000 qualification if there is no industry backing or recognition for it!

AA hopefuls.
 

Hi there,

I see no one has posted on this thread for a while... however I'd just like to add some comments for people who might be considering this course as a step to gaining employment in the aviation industry.

I'm currently employed by Skywest and operate for Virgin Australia on the regional ATR flights. As we're a fairly new operation there's currently around 40+ cc operating out of BNE and CBR bases. I would say around 1/2 of the cc have taken the AA course if not recently then 2 or 3 years ago. They all say that the course was amazing, well worth the money, and the sole reason they are now flying.

I personally didn't take the course as I had previous flying experience and saw the AA course as a waste of time and money. As some of the previous posts mention, some airlines are more likely to hire AA graduates. I believe Skywest might be one of those airlines so if you are considering applying for skywest and have a spare $5000 perhaps you could take the course. However, talking to my colleagues about the other AA graduates in their classes it seems that very few of them get flying jobs at other airlines.

As most of the other posts mention, you would be much better off gaining customer service experience and doing first aid/CPR courses in your own time as you can learn about meal services/EPS etc in ground school.

Hope this helps!

Happy flying! :O

I too have a vast network of industry contacts and can absolutely promise you that I will look favourably on your Certificate II in Aviation (Flight Operations). Please send a cheque for a lot of money to me immediately.





I'm curious - Did you actually post on this thread without reading any of the preceding comments? And you are looking for a job with some degree of responsibility over people's lives?

Funny enough, there IS an airline that actively recruits from Aviation Australia and that is Adagold Avaition. They operate the military charter flights from Australia to the Middle East in conjunction with Hifly of Portugal on the A340. They recruit experienced flyers or AA graduates so they can get away with an 8 day conversion course rather than the usual 5.5 week course. Haven't seen them on seek for a while which makes me think they fill vacancies direct now.