Srilankan Aviation College geared to revolutionise local aviation industry
The International Air Transport Association (IATA), a trade association of the world’s airlines which supports aviation with global standards for airline safety, security, efficiency and sustainability, in a 2017-published report unveiled that as of 2014, the air transport industry supported 62.7 million jobs globally, of which 9.9 million jobs worldwide are direct employment.
In accordance to the study, aviation provides the only worldwide rapid transportation system which makes it essential for global business and tourism, and aviation’s total global economic impact is US$2.7 trillion including direct, indirect, induced and the catalytic effects of tourism.
In order to cater to this fast-paced growth, the industry requires efficient and skilled labour, with the ability to cater to a diversity of areas and provide services to passengers and other stakeholders. As per the forecast by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the world aviation industry will require 620,000 pilots, 650,000 maintenance personnel and 840,000 cabin crew members by the year 2036. To fulfill these requirements, training organisations across the world will have to play a stellar role in training skilled employees.
Identifying the multifarious demand, and with the intention to upgrade the current training standards in the country, Srilankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, launched its integrated aviation training academy, which opens up a world of opportunities for the ambitious youth to take their first step towards an exciting career in aviation.
Srilankan Aviation College (SLAC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Srilankan Airlines, is an aviation integrated training institution that offers candidates a careerfocused, innovative and extensive portfolio of aviation training courses with the commitment to prepare students for professional, as well as personal success.
The institution boasts its unique distinction of being certified by reputed international organisations such as: International Air Transport Association (IATA), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Lucrative careers in aviation
With over 34 years of experience in aviation training to international standards, Srilankan Aviation College was established in December 2014, with the aim of inspiring the Sri Lankan youth to pursue lucrative careers in aviation as it unifies all training operations of Srilankan Airlines under one strategic business unit. It specialises in providing comprehensive international standard aviation training under one brand. The current training arms of the institution include the International Aviation Academy (IAA) and Srilankan Technical Training (STT).
The International Aviation Academy is currently rated in the top ten IATA training facilities in the world for non-technical professional training in aviation. The portfolio of IAA prospers from introductory level IATA diplomas for travel and tourism, cargo, cabin crew and more. It further specialises in providing Airport Passenger Handling, Dangerous Goods Regulations, Flight Dispatchers and all potential functional training areas of an airline. IAA also expands to image consultancy, grooming and etiquette programmes and more. The IAA is responsible for training over 3,000 internal staff and over 600 external students annually.
Srilankan Technical Training, the Aircraft Maintenance arm of SLAC has the experience of more that three decades in aircraft maintenance and engineering training, providing a substantial foundation for the technical reliability of the fleet of the national carrier and an increasing number of foreign careers. The STT is amongst a handful of institutions in Asia which have been granted one of the highest industrial standards- European Air Safety Agency Part 147 approval for Aircraft Maintenance Training. Apart from being approved by the EASA, the training institute is also approved by the Aviation regulators of Sri Lanka; Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL), Maldives; Civil Aviation Department (CAD), and Pakistan; Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to conduct training in Avionics and Mechanical streams fulfilling the standards of EASA Part 66.
Strong skills
With an experienced panel of lecturers, equipped with first-hand industry knowledge, SLAC ensures that graduates enter employment with strong skills and a thorough understanding of aviation quality, safety and environmental standards. All courses are designed with a balanced focus between knowledge, skills, values and experience.
The academy is also one of the very few institutions in the world to offer practical training in an actual Aircraft Maintenance environment which includes experience in the line, base and workshops which handle Airbus aircraft. Additionally, SLAC offers two degree programmes in collaboration with a local university and a foreign university, namely; Bsc (Hons) in Aircraft Maintenance with General Sir John Kotelawala University, and Bsc (Hons) Aircraft Engineering from Kingston University, UK, respectively.
“We have offered the students six months of on-the-job training free of charge,” stated Srilankan Aviation College General Manager Primal De Silva. “The price structure for foreign students is US$25,000, but for a local student it is Rs.1.9 million, which they get to pay in five installments, which is around US$12,000, so if one of the Sri Lankan kids want to go overseas and do one of these courses, its US$55,000 for the course fee only, apart from living costs. Why we can give it at that price to local students is because we are encouraging foreign students to come in and then we can subsidise the locals by bringing in foreign students.”