Farnborough College of Technology Careers Fair

Scott Butcher from The Air Charter Association’s NextGen Group presented at the Farnborough College of Technology Careers Fair. It was a great opportunity to introduce students studying various subjects to the charter industry, many of whom were previously unaware of its existence. Students were very interested in the experience of flying privately, how the process works for clients looking to book charters, and the roles available within the industry.

The college offers aeronautical engineering courses so naturally this was also a topic of discussion. Most of the engineering students saw their futures working for commercial airlines, but were interested to hear that there may be also be opportunities within private aviation. The event also allowed Scott to encourage students to attend his employer Starflight Aviation’s presentation next month, where they will begin a recruitment process for a trainee broker who will begin in September.

Presentation to Stansted Airport College, 8 March 2022

NextGen Group members Samantha Whitfield, Nicola-Jane Sellers and Brad Wright took attended Stansted Airport College on 8 March where they spoke with lots of enthusiastic young trainees who aspire to be aircraft engineers, travel managers, security officers, corporate and airline cabin crew, and of course pilots! The students were keen to learn more about air charter as well as sustainability within aviation, which presented the perfect opportunity to speak about some of The ACA and NextGen initiatives, working groups and training.

The facility provides a handcrafted learning environment for over 500 young aviation professionals, and their 360 approach to learning is inspiring. The classrooms overlook the runway at Stansted, and both the trainees and staff enjoy seeing the different aircraft operating in and out – especially when high profile VIPs are escorted right past the front gate.

Many of the students have made a significant commitment to their learning by choosing to study at the Stansted Airport College, commuting more than an hour each day from London, and a small number travel for hours and stay locally mid-week, before returning home for the weekend. Working closely with some of the neighboring businesses the curriculum is supported with additional offsite learning and interaction with experienced industry colleagues.

The ACA’s NextGen team enjoyed sharing knowledge, answering questions and finding out about their career aspirations. There may be a few trainee charter brokers among them, and certainly some that showed promise in wanting to ensure the future of aviation is young, creative and sustainable!

The college is always on the look out for individuals and businesses to help with their student engagement. If you could spend a few hours with the trainees for a Q&A session or an industry presentation, or if your business could offer work experience or an apprenticeship please contact them to find out how you could help. Find out more about Stansted Airport College via their website. http://www.stanstedairportcollege.ac.uk/employers

Presentation to Buckinghamshire New University, 8 February 2022

George Romeril and Will Taylor from The ACA’s NextGen Group presented to a group of students at Buckinghamshire New University on 8 February, to explain the concept of private air charter and the role The ACA has in the industry.

With his experience as a charter broker, Will explained the role of a broker and how they bridge the gap between operators and the flying customer. He also talked about how important customer service is, and to ensure a seamless and personalised experience. George was able to talk about the operational roles from his experience flying the King Air 200 aircraft for Isle-Fly. He talked about how varied the flights can be and how different every day is, with a variety of challenges arising and how satisfying it is to overcome these without the customer ever being aware of them. It is a real team effort to ensure the smooth experience for the customer and those with an operational role can see first hand the direct impact they have, which is very fulfilling.

Illegal Charter was a big topic in the questions and answers session. This is an ongoing issue in the air charter industry, so it was great to see that the aviation students were already aware of this. Will and George went into more detail on illegal charter so that in the future the students will be able to recognise the potential for this illegal side of our industry and know to report it. They explained what certificates and licences a company should have in place so that they can avoid working with or for an illegal operator in the future.

Read more about the NextGen Group here.