Tuesday, 16 July 2013 01:32
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The International Aviation Academy (IAA) of SriLankan Airlines has been conferred a prestigious recognition from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), as one of the world’s top 10 authorised aviation training centres of its 2013 Premier Circle – an assessment made on the evaluation of 440 aviation training centres in 90 countries.
The centres have been evaluated on the rate of growth, expansion, student ratings, standard of facilities and the centres’ commitment to promote IATA training programs.
Among the world’s top 10 are Etihad Airways, Japan’s Air Cargo Training Centre and Japan Aircargo Forwarders Association (JAFA), Kenya’s Air Travel and Related Studies Centre, Qatar Aeronautical College, and India’s Trade Wings Institute of Management, Speedwings Academy for Aviation Services, Akbar Academy of Airline Studies and India International Trade Centre.
“This is a significant endorsement of SriLankan Airlines’ efforts to equip the next generation with the knowledge and competences necessary in the dynamic aviation industry and the run-up to achieve the aviation hub status that we have committed to work towards as the national carrier of Sri Lanka,” said Nishantha Wickremasinghe, Chairman, SriLankan Airlines.
IATA’s Training and Development Institute (ITDI), in its role as a catalyst to build leadership and competences that are essential to support the industry, annually conducts training partner recognition programs to identify excellence among IATA’s authorised training centres. Regional top 10 ATCs were also selected from the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and South Asia.
This is SriLankan IAA’s second IATA training excellence award, having become one of the top 10 training centres in South Asia in 2012, awarded at the congress in Singapore. Within a short spell of two years, the IAA has been globally recognised as it has displayed phenomenal progress.
In IATA’s mission to ‘represent, lead and serve the airline industry’, the ITDI congratulates its partners on qualifying as a 2013 Premier Circle (worldwide top 10) member. It endorses that “In the preceding year, this elite group achieved impressive results in training a large number of students, demonstrated loyalty to IATA training programs and commitment to student success reflected by high student examination passing rates.”
“We are indeed proud to receive this award of excellence and it is an encouragement to strive more to reach higher standards, as we keep raising the bar in all our training endeavours,” said Pradeepa Kekulawala, SriLankan’s Head of Human Resources.
“SriLankan has a long and rare reputation as being a quality training ground and enhancing this, the airline hopes to consolidate its training facilities further by integrating all training centres into one,” said Captain Kamal Gunawardena, who has been appointed as SriLankan Airlines’ Project Head of the Integrated Aviation Academy.
In 2012, the IAA increased its training programs from two to eight, its revenue and student growth increased threefold, its external market share from 21% to 49% and student success ratings from 87% to 94%. Among other factors that contributed to this award were IAA’s launch of its Maldives training centre, which has already completed the first round of IATA cabin crew training, the introduction of international programs for Maldivian Airlines, local and international partnerships, and corporate social responsibility initiatives for staff, undergraduates and school-leavers.
