Sky’s the limit for college grads

PILOTS who will be qualified to fly passengers for commercial airlines all over Europe are being trained at one of the country’s most successful regional airports.

A new aviation college, dedicated to training pilots mainly for the fast-growing European airline industry, has been set up at Waterford’s South East Regional Airport and has been approved by the Irish Aviation Authority.

The new college was set up by aviation experts, Mike Edgeworth and Tony Kember, a former Chief Flight Examiner with the British Civil Aviation Authority.

Launching the college yesterday, Environment Minister, Martin Cullen, said he was very pleased to welcome the college to Waterford.

“The Pilot Training College of Ireland has passed an extremely rigorous, intensive and lengthy official scrutiny of systems and procedures, equipment and aircraft, qualifications of personnel, financial stability and other essential criteria and it is particularly pleasing to see that already nine trainee pilots have completed their first steps here in Waterford towards qualifying as commercial pilots.”

Operating under the latest pan-European regulations, PTC will train pilots for the Commercial Pilot’s Licence, the qualification needed to fly for airlines and other positions in the commercial aviation sector.

The college will also train for the Private Pilot’s License, an increasingly sought-after qualification for personal, business and recreational flying.

Job opportunities in the airline transport sector have recovered strongly and the trend is forecast to continue.

Pilot recruitment is forecast to increase by approximately five percent each year up to 2010 in Europe, requiring an additional 17,000 pilots over the next seven years, according to the college Managing Director, Mike Edgeworth, a pilot and businessman.

“Young men and women seeking careers as pilots have in the past travelled to the UK, the USA and further afield to obtain their initial licences and ratings,” he said.

“Now PTC offers all the necessary facilities and instruction to complete their entire training in Ireland. The Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) commercial licence issued at the end of successful training is an internationally agreed standard acceptable across the whole of Europe.

“Our philosophy is based on a quality strategy,” says Mike Edgeworth. “We provide a high level of professional training to all our students, enabling them to further their careers in the aviation industry by being well-qualified to pass the stringent entry-level requirements of the major airlines.”

PTC instructional and administrative staff have a wealth of experience in the commercial and airline sectors, and all of the college’s instructors are licenced commercial pilots, specifically trained and approved to give flight instruction.

During the college’s start-up phase in Waterford over the past few months it has already begun training its first ‘commercial, multi-engine and instrument rating’ students.

The college will offer training to the Irish market but has also tapped into the very high level of demand for training from students from all over Europe, who are anxious to come to Waterford to avail of first-class training in an English-language environment.

The Pilot Training College of Ireland is an associate company of its British counterpart, which enjoys an excellent reputation following many years of pilot training at Bournemouth Airport.

The Waterford-based instructors, who have wide experience of pilot training in Ireland, have had their techniques enhanced by spending time at the Bournemouth facility.