Testing still on-going
 

Someone I know is doing the Day1 tests next week (30th July).

:eek::eek::eek:

When was his day 1 assessment?
They invited him for day 2 one week earlier (at least)??

Please elaborate.

Thanks

If what SL4T has mentioned is correct, that would indicate a situation where GAA is struggling to spot a sufficient number of qualified cadets! A conclusion that looks logical to me, taking into consideration the poor overall performance of applicants and the very low pass rate during the early days of the skill assessment tests.

I hope I'm wrong with this conclusion!

It needs real skill to be a COMPASS Acer, & not to be a Needle Chaser!

Viva Oxford!

WELCO, it's true. He was contacted by phone and email.

Initially I thought the same, that they probably didn't get enough candidates. But then something occured to me.....

From what I hear, over 400 people applied.

400 x BD200 = BD80'000 :eek:

Not Bad at all. Heck, I wouldn't stop until each and every applicant has done the tests.

That’s not true Mike. The total number of applicants was more than 300 up to the deadline of submitting the applications 25th of June.
SL4T is talking about 400 now, that means all wannabes got a chance to go through the assessment regardless their academic background.

Quote:

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all wannabes got a chance to go through the assessment regardless their academic background.

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GAA is only reaching the bottom of the applicants list, and without relaxing the selection criteria. However, you may argue the deadline issue and the financial interest.

Just curious about requirements
 

Hello everyone...Ive been following this thread closely as my son is one of those trying to get a place in this pilot program.

It would seem that, according to comments here, that the choices have been slim and that potential candidates have fallen short of meeting the criteria. Im curious as to what criteria is being used to choose these candidates because my son seems to fit everything they asked for...and he was one of the 7 called back for day 2 interviews...he passed everything with no problems and told me he got very positive feed back from the interviewers...and yet he got a phone call saying he was on some sort of stand by...that he didnt actually make it but might be considered and not to lose hope. (something like that as he was very upset over the call)

I want to know then...what criteria is required? Someone commented that nobody knew much about the airplanes etc....I didnt see knowledge of aircrafts as requirements to be met on the application forms....and anyhow...isnt that what they will teach you in the program?

My son has been an A student ALL his academic life. He has never gotten into trouble...has a clean history and worked hard for every thing he has earned thus far...and he dreamed to be a pilot....but we dont have money to pay for him...so this program practically fell out of the sky into his lap and he was over the freakin moon about it...walking on cloud 9 for days until he was called in for his interviews etc...then he was BOUNCING on clouds for days after that...then the phone call and he is crushed.

What the heck does a person have to have to get in this program...desire....ability to learn...strong character and willing personality etc...what? He has all of those as well as perfect English...which many of those there that day indicated was a MUST.

So basically he met every requirement they asked for...and yet was seemingly declined. What the heck were they REALLY looking for...or was this just a publicity stunt or some such thing which happens quite alot in Bahrain...everything is for show...nothing with substance.

Someone who tried and failed miserably (his english is terrible) said they told him 2 years college was required...but that is NOT listed on the requirements page...and if it were...then I would guess that we along with many other families...would not have struggled to come up with this much needed Bd200 to pay for applying...if we knew we didnt fullfill the requirements....so if that is true...we deserve our Bd200 back as it was taken with false information.

My son just wants to be a pilot...and he thought his dream was actually within his grasp...but this whole thing has seemed to be an elaborate charade from the start. Is there anywhere we can get some answers?

Thanks for listening.

No need to panic Coolred38!

Your son has passed day 1 assessment, which was the hardest part. Now that means he was more than halfway through! For day 2, unless he has shown some terrible attitude or given totally irrelevant answers to specific questions, he will be just fine and likely to be selected.

For the total number of cadets who have been interviewed, they were surely more than 7 by far. It's true only 7 have made it during the first few days, but later on, more cadets have passed too. What I know is that the first batch will be around 20 cadets. On a latter stage, there will be other batches to follow. So if he wasn't selected for the first, he might catch the second I guess. Another thing, which is of my own assumptions and may not be true, what if they have done some sort of ranking of the guys who have passed. If this is the case, then just passing the tests and the interview won't necessarily mean that an applicant has secured a seat!

The good thing is that they have never told your son that he has failed or will not get a chance at all to join. May be they are keeping him for the next intake. Let's say his status is "pending"! That's not bad at all to be honest. Many applicants didn't make it, and they were never contacted to know why!

I know how your son feels after all. But try to discuss it with him positively (and you are not faking anything though!!). Patience is his asset now!

All the best:ok:

As I understood from the thread it's not a full sponsership! so if your son doesn't get selected he still have hope by joining another school and showing the acceptance letter to the bank for a student loan.
Another thing that flying schools don't tell you is that the price you get quoted is the bear minimum , If the student goes over them he has to pay the diffrence that and plus the fuel surcharge if it goes up.
It only takes two things to fly, airspeed and money.

Red max, your right it's not full sponsorship. Not getting through the dodgy GAA selection criteria is not the end all, be all. You'll be asked to take out a massive bank loan (rumoured to be over 50k Dinars) and a job offer at the end of training is neither guaranteed nor even conditional - nothing in writing either!

It's important you take that into consideration.

Coolred38, I agree and I'm sympathetic to everyone who had to pay 200 Dinars only to be shown the door, or just left hanging. I discussed this in a previous post earlier on. In my opinion, it's criminal that they were allowed to charge everyone for the "privilege" of being screened. It's unjustified.

If your paying to put yourself through a selection process, you should at least, as a bare minimum expect some form of written or oral feedback in return for your money.

I don't know how things are done at GAA, but I can tell you that the more reputable flight schools out there offer a service in return for your custom. You are given a full debrief at the end where a flight or ground instructor will go through your performance on each of the testing areas, discuss your weak areas, and give you hints and suggestions on how to improve should you need to.

Perhaps someone from GAA can muster up the courage and offer an explanation on here?!

Mike, the first day's assessment is carried out by Oxford, surely you're not suggesting that their criteria is 'dodgy'?
Indeed, as a casual observer I think it is the only bona fide part of the entire program.

The OAA selection in itself is not dodgy, but it's worth mentioning that OAA are simply a customer of GAA at this point, and prospective students are not completely experiencing what they would if they were going through OAA's selection process back in the UK. The fact that nobody was given debriefs or feedback is one example.

GAA are still involved in the selection process, albeit with some help from OAA.

This is what it says on the OAA website re selection tests which YOU pay for:

"On completion of the process, all candidates are given a comprehensive and open review of their results. Those who do not meet the required standard and for whom airline pilot training would be considered inappropriate, will be counselled accordingly."

UPDATE: I have emailed Annie Shagra at GAA and I have invited her to respond to some of the issues raised on this forum.

Applicants should know how they performed in the assessment with justifications for the overall results. So apart from the debriefing issue, I do believe the whole program is fine. And I think the word "dodgy" is an overstatement. GAA did not promise any debriefings or refunds, and all applicants did accept that.


Certainly not. It's the other way round! Technically speaking, OAA is responsible for selection with only some help from GAA. Once OAA has selected the proper candidates, GAA tells who to go now and who to go later. They are the customers as you have said.

Remember that OAA is regarded as the best FTO in this sort of business, and surely they don't want to hurt this eminent position by accepting cadets who are below their well-defined standards.

It's the way GAA went about doing things which I disagree with, not the actual assessment being conducted by OAA. I understand that GAA never promised debriefings or refunds but that doesn't mean it was the right thing to do - but hey, it's Bahrain so 'mafee mushkilla'

OAA can whittle down the numbers by their selection process and 'green light' a group of individuals who would probably make good candidates, but GAA can still pull the plug on any number of those candidates based on their own criteria.

Your quite right. OAA is a well oiled pilot factory and they've really streamlined their flight training operations. There's little room for them to allocate resources for those who fall behind and need extra work.

Don't forget that in the UK, it's the UK CAA that externally examine students when it comes to your Class 1 medical, your ATPL theoretical exams, and finally your Instrument Rating skills test - your examiner will have been appointed by the Authority and not the FTO in question.

Do you think GAA really want to do that when they can hardly find suitable candidates? based on OAA selection at first place?


Been there....!!

Thanks everyone
 

Thanks you guys for taking the time to answer my questions. Does anyone have any tips for getting him into some other type program...point me in the right direction so to speak. I might be able to find someone to sponsor him.

I have a friend who writes for one of the local Arabic newspapers...she wants to do an interview with someone affiliated with this program but so far hasnt found anyone willing to speak to her...interesting.

The following is confirmed:

6 or 7 guys attended a group interview this morning.

One guy was a bit late and sent home.

They were given group tasks and puzzles. The aim was to see group interaction, leadership and social skills, kinda like what is done in the annual CRM workshops.

In the afternoon they will be individually interviewed.