BA Future Pilot Programme (FPP)(Merged)
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Thanks Binsleepen, very useful info I appreciate it. I am not worried about the minimum criteria BA stated because I think I meet them (9,1 in the international baccalaureate in Science and Maths, equivalent to an A/A*, I am not sure yet), plus I have a degree, speak 5 languages, have work experience in the aviation world and hold a PPL licence...
What I am worried about is the fact that I am not British, and therefore I am not a native English speaker...
It will be hard, but even if I don't meet the BA requirements at the end, I hope they give the opportunity not only to those guys who meet the criteria (there will be hundreds even thousands of them), but also to those who have shown an interest for flying.
Thank you again, and best wishes to everyone.
What I am worried about is the fact that I am not British, and therefore I am not a native English speaker...
It will be hard, but even if I don't meet the BA requirements at the end, I hope they give the opportunity not only to those guys who meet the criteria (there will be hundreds even thousands of them), but also to those who have shown an interest for flying.
Thank you again, and best wishes to everyone.
FullTanks
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21 pages so far and.....they haven't started the selection yet!
To those who are asking the question 'what if I only have.....' British Airways have published their minimum requirements, what bit of that do you not understand?
It is plain and concise what they are asking for, so if you do not have the results needed, get them, go to night school.
To those who are asking the question 'what if I only have.....' British Airways have published their minimum requirements, what bit of that do you not understand?
It is plain and concise what they are asking for, so if you do not have the results needed, get them, go to night school.
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Jambone,
As a university student who has had a part-time job in the past, I wholeheartedly agree. There is only so much you can get from part-time work, and it definitely isn't sufficient to give a good answer to those sorts of question. That said, I would be surprised if any of those questions are on the application form. I could be wrong though, it wouldn't be a first!
That said though, I imagine the vast majority of successful applicants will have had at least 2/3 years full time work experience, so maybe the application will contain that type of question.
As a university student who has had a part-time job in the past, I wholeheartedly agree. There is only so much you can get from part-time work, and it definitely isn't sufficient to give a good answer to those sorts of question. That said, I would be surprised if any of those questions are on the application form. I could be wrong though, it wouldn't be a first!
That said though, I imagine the vast majority of successful applicants will have had at least 2/3 years full time work experience, so maybe the application will contain that type of question.
Last edited by BerksFlyer; 23rd Aug 2011 at 18:33.
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Jambone,
The questions are designed to promote a response that reveals something about you as a person. For example you might just as easily have been part of a football team at school, or held a position in a club that involved an aspect of leadership. It isn't a competition based on the role you use as an example, more than a question designed to get you to show what you understand about "leadership" or whatever the topic might be. The same question posed to everybody, will promote an entire spectrum of answers based on each individuals personal experience. The answers should reveal how the individual interprets, reasons, and most importantly communicates a response to the question.
It is important not to be too narrowly focused, but rather look at the broader picture. They are very unlikely to care whether your example was as the head of of a team of advertising executives, or as a member of the school swimming team. It is the way you interpret, reason and respond that they will be more focused on, particularly how that fits in to the rest of the questions and general assesment.
The questions are designed to promote a response that reveals something about you as a person. For example you might just as easily have been part of a football team at school, or held a position in a club that involved an aspect of leadership. It isn't a competition based on the role you use as an example, more than a question designed to get you to show what you understand about "leadership" or whatever the topic might be. The same question posed to everybody, will promote an entire spectrum of answers based on each individuals personal experience. The answers should reveal how the individual interprets, reasons, and most importantly communicates a response to the question.
It is important not to be too narrowly focused, but rather look at the broader picture. They are very unlikely to care whether your example was as the head of of a team of advertising executives, or as a member of the school swimming team. It is the way you interpret, reason and respond that they will be more focused on, particularly how that fits in to the rest of the questions and general assesment.
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Jambone,
That is the purpose of it. To separate those with experience and without. They don't want people that have just finished school and didn't do any extra-curricular activities for example, or someone that has spent the 5 years after leaving school doing nothing. They have to find a way to reduce numbers even further than just the academic qualifications. If you have a question set that everyone can answer equally then there would be no point in having it. It is another way to reduce numbers, it has to be biased.
That is the purpose of it. To separate those with experience and without. They don't want people that have just finished school and didn't do any extra-curricular activities for example, or someone that has spent the 5 years after leaving school doing nothing. They have to find a way to reduce numbers even further than just the academic qualifications. If you have a question set that everyone can answer equally then there would be no point in having it. It is another way to reduce numbers, it has to be biased.
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Spot on Exmil-person. All interview and selection processes I have taken part in, for both aviation and non-aviation fields, has been competency based. It exists in all walks of life so get used to it! I am sure they will be some fresh school leavers who really have gone the extra mile to gain the required skills through extra-curricular activities, so I would not read it as entirely biased against the proverbial 18 year-old. You are 16 years old so have the time to work on any blanks in your CV.
Join Date: Nov 2007
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Jambone,
BA will be taking some guys/girls who have just done 'A' levels. They will not expect an 18 year old to have been head of the Olympic Delivery Authority and to be able to to discuss the change issues related to a newly elected mayor. They will expect an 18 year old to tell them about how they dealt with disagreements within their scout patrol; or how they overcame adversity on a DoE challange; or dealt with some sort of cultural issue in class/scouts/some club you were in.
Probably only 1 in 100 applicants will get a place. It will be tough and BA will only take those that it considers the best. However it will be fair in-so-much-as BA will expect those applicants in their mid 30's to have done much more in life than those who are 18.
Use these 2 years to get out and do stuff. Get up to your local flying club, volunteer for things in your local community, get a Saturday job. These things will show BA that you have what they want.
All the best
BA will be taking some guys/girls who have just done 'A' levels. They will not expect an 18 year old to have been head of the Olympic Delivery Authority and to be able to to discuss the change issues related to a newly elected mayor. They will expect an 18 year old to tell them about how they dealt with disagreements within their scout patrol; or how they overcame adversity on a DoE challange; or dealt with some sort of cultural issue in class/scouts/some club you were in.
Probably only 1 in 100 applicants will get a place. It will be tough and BA will only take those that it considers the best. However it will be fair in-so-much-as BA will expect those applicants in their mid 30's to have done much more in life than those who are 18.
Use these 2 years to get out and do stuff. Get up to your local flying club, volunteer for things in your local community, get a Saturday job. These things will show BA that you have what they want.
All the best
Join Date: Dec 2006
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Jambone, it has to be an entirely fair process or BA wouldn't run it, everyone has experiences in their life, be they 16 or 30, it is not the experience as such that matters, its is how you communicate those experiences on paper in your application, everyone has dealt with change or has made an important decision in their lives, how did you deal with these changes? more importantly what did you learn? what is your decision making process? etc, etc you have plenty of time to give yourself a chance and improve on your CV, the advice given in previous threads is spot on, get out there and get some experience if it's really that much of a problem, volunteering, air cadets, army cadets, work experience will all come in handy. Good luck regardless, and at 16 time is really on your side.
Join Date: Jun 2011
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Hello everyone,
I'm a long time reader, first time poster.
Although I haven't been able to keep pace with this thread, I have been reading the last few pages.
From what I gather a lot of people seem very anxious, apprehensive, unsure and basically quite insecure on whether they meet the requirements, finance and demeanor required to be a cadet for BA.
As far as I am concerned there's only one way to look at this.
It's been a long time since BA have opened the pearly gates to their holy grail, so why umm and ahh about it? If you're like me and have always dreamed of flying (and in my case especially for BA) then nothing should stop you from at least putting your name down.
The FPP site has the answers to all the questions I've been able drum up in my mind and more, referring to that should settle any insecurities you may have.
Asking forum member and others for their opinions and advice is all well and good, but when it comes to the crunch it's going to be you on your own two feet in front of BA.
In the end you will either make the grade or you won't; many of you will agree that this sounds a lot like life, doesn't it?
I'd like to wish everyone the best of luck, but as I'm also a prospective candidate, maybe I won't...
See you at the finish line...?
I'm a long time reader, first time poster.
Although I haven't been able to keep pace with this thread, I have been reading the last few pages.
From what I gather a lot of people seem very anxious, apprehensive, unsure and basically quite insecure on whether they meet the requirements, finance and demeanor required to be a cadet for BA.
As far as I am concerned there's only one way to look at this.
It's been a long time since BA have opened the pearly gates to their holy grail, so why umm and ahh about it? If you're like me and have always dreamed of flying (and in my case especially for BA) then nothing should stop you from at least putting your name down.
The FPP site has the answers to all the questions I've been able drum up in my mind and more, referring to that should settle any insecurities you may have.
Asking forum member and others for their opinions and advice is all well and good, but when it comes to the crunch it's going to be you on your own two feet in front of BA.
In the end you will either make the grade or you won't; many of you will agree that this sounds a lot like life, doesn't it?
I'd like to wish everyone the best of luck, but as I'm also a prospective candidate, maybe I won't...
See you at the finish line...?
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I agree about not rushing the application too much that mistakes are made. The CTC email talks about a 'short' application window, but presumably there will be more than enough time to take a few days to sleep on things written on the form etc. From experience applying for jobs in the past: getting in early is certainly advisable, but being there in the first few days rather than the first couple of weeks doesn't make a difference.
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When BA opened their recruitment last September, it was expected to be open for 3 months. The closed it after 6 days because they had in excess of 3000 applications.
All these applications will be screened be people sat in front of computers. BA are expecting a huge amount, but if they were to receive say 30,000 in the first week, I wouldnt be surprised if they closed it after one week.
Whilst it's wise to take some time, I wouldn't leave it for a few days/weeks... You should be able to write a couple of essay questions in a day. Factor in getting someone to read over it for grammar mistakes etc and it shouldn't take longer then two days.
Just an opinion...
All these applications will be screened be people sat in front of computers. BA are expecting a huge amount, but if they were to receive say 30,000 in the first week, I wouldnt be surprised if they closed it after one week.
Whilst it's wise to take some time, I wouldn't leave it for a few days/weeks... You should be able to write a couple of essay questions in a day. Factor in getting someone to read over it for grammar mistakes etc and it shouldn't take longer then two days.
Just an opinion...
Join Date: Aug 2010
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this is horrible. i meet every single selection criteria except for the a level grades.
will ba accept students with lower grades? ( any chance of it?)
the only chance i had to become a pilot, all gone.
good luck to anyone else that applies.
will ba accept students with lower grades? ( any chance of it?)
the only chance i had to become a pilot, all gone.
good luck to anyone else that applies.
Join Date: Sep 2007
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Hmm.
I fit all of the requirements / finance / experience - except...
I currently have a recently diagnosed minor heart condition (WPW) which is treatable via ablation, it's all booked in for two weeks time and I've already had the EPS which came back straightforward and located the pathway.
The CAA state that after ablation there is a 2month unfit for work period. So as of December 2011 I will be able to obtain a Class 1.
So CURRENTLY, I couldn't obtain a Class 1 medical, but as of February 2012 I will be able to. But if you click 'yes' to the 'is there any reason you wouldn't get a medical' it doesn't let you progress.
Am I out of luck?
I fit all of the requirements / finance / experience - except...
I currently have a recently diagnosed minor heart condition (WPW) which is treatable via ablation, it's all booked in for two weeks time and I've already had the EPS which came back straightforward and located the pathway.
The CAA state that after ablation there is a 2month unfit for work period. So as of December 2011 I will be able to obtain a Class 1.
So CURRENTLY, I couldn't obtain a Class 1 medical, but as of February 2012 I will be able to. But if you click 'yes' to the 'is there any reason you wouldn't get a medical' it doesn't let you progress.
Am I out of luck?
Join Date: Aug 2011
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BA FPP Age related question
I meet all the requirements and am happy to note no upper age limit on the above scheme. I have also been lucky enough to be able to demonstrate a successful career in a top profession. I am however a commercial pilot "wannabe" but... I am aged 49 , soon to be 50, and fully understand what that may mean for BA and their FPP with plenty (no doubt) of 20+ year old applications. Will I realistically stand a chance, after all, I can still give them 15 years or so of service?