Evidence-Based Training

Civil Aviation Training Leader Forum

Bringing Airlines, ATOs, OEMs & Industry together

Industry Topic 3 – Evidence Based Training

Thursday 27th May 2021

12:00pm UTC / 13:00pm BST / 14:00pm CEST

 

Evidence-Based Training / Competency-Based Training & Assessment (EBT/CBTA) protocols are being implemented worldwide; ICAO, IATA and EASA have provided guidance and regulatory material, but still a lot of questions and uncertainties exist.

One main question: is there too much guidance in the EBT world? With EASA leading the industry in setting safe frameworks for EBT, some fear that it may become very complicated and overly prescriptive, with the risk of falling into the old trap of rigid, compliance-based training instead of performance-based (competency) training. The introduction of EBT/CBTA will therefore perhaps imply significant changes in the way oversight is done (e.g., performance-based oversight principles) to mitigate such a devolution of CBTA principles.

For some countries, cultural background may undermine grading and effective feedback. The solution here might be to accept a prescriptive CBTA initially, and slowly shift to a performance-based program as experience and confidence grows (similar to the mixed-EBT approach).

EBT for small operators is another issue. Does it make sense to go through the heavy paperwork for an operator with only two or five airplanes? While it may seem attractive to keep it simple, it might be better to make an effort at the beginning instead of fixing problems later, especially when it comes to implementing core principles of CBTA and performance-based training.

Academies are, contrary to airlines, looking for more guidance in CBTA, especially in the realm of practical flight training. It is expected that this guidance will be developed as experience from recurrent (EBT) training trickles down to ab initio and type-rating training.

Training device manufacturers need to develop instructor operating stations (IOS) adapted to EBT/CBTA training and scenarios, facilitating the integration of dynamic, competency-based syllabi into the IOS.

Overall, much work still to be done: ensure that EBT fundamentals remain understood and in place in expanding regulations, find solutions for small operators, adapt simulators to better assist instructors in CBTA, and close the gaps in the training pipeline running from ATOs to airline operators.

Come and participate in the CAT Leader Forum webinar that will discuss with industry leaders all these aspects.