All your education questions answered by Brian Mooney

I have just completed my Leaving Certificate and have decided to take a year out as I did not find anything of interest to me within the CAO system.

I always wanted to train as an airline pilot, but was not sure of the opportunities to do so in Ireland, if any. I recently met a classmate, who had recently started a pilot training programme in Waterford. Do you know anything about this programme and the career prospects it offers or any other pilot training option available in Ireland?

There are two options available to you to become a trained pilot in Ireland. The Irish Air Corps sporadically hires cadets, but demands a five-year permanent contract, followed by a seven-year contract with the reserves. One cannot predict when such recruitment may occur.

Other than through the Air Corps, you had up to recently, to go to the UK, Canada or the US, but as your classmate has discovered, the Pilot Training College of Ireland, based at Waterford Airport, has recently introduced a full-time airline pilot training course.

The course will train student pilots right up to the point where they will be ready for an interview with an airline. It runs for a year, with 10 months of the course taking place in Ireland, and two months of the course in Florida in the US. The cost is high at 75,000, but it includes all your regulatory required flight and ground training, equipment, books, fees and accommodation. For more information log on to www.pilottraining.ie

There are many reasons why now may be a good time to consider training as a commercial pilot.

A recent article in the New York Times forecasted that there will be growth in the global demand for pilots for the next 20 years - and a looming pilot shortage. It is There is a forecasted that over the next year, more than 500 pilots will be recruited for positions with Ryanair, Aer Arann, City Jet and Aer Lingus, are all hiring extensively.

Most banks and lending institutions are now amenable to providing funding for student pilots, given the salaries earned after qualification. The Pilot College of Ireland has a funding package in place to facilitate training. The finance packages are flexible, and repayments can start once you are employed with an airline.

While the cost of a pilot training course may seem like a lot of money now, the thing to bear in mind is that it represents less than one year's salary, once you are qualified. Many airline captains are earning well over 150,000 a year, so the costs, although large, must be looked at against your potential future earnings.

The fact that you have just completed the Leaving Certificate is not a problem. The younger you start your pilot training the better. Becoming a commercial pilot is not rocket science, but you do need to retain a lot of information during your training and you must be very alert and focused. Attention to detail at all times is a critical characteristic for a professional pilot. You must also be proficient in English, the international language of pilots.

So what should you do now?

Look at all the options within Ireland and abroad by researching carefully the range of courses on offer.

If you want to see if this career option may be for you, the Pilot Training College offers a pilot skills and aptitude course for 295.

For any commercial pilot training course that you do, you will need to have a JAA Class One medical examination, costing approximately 500 which can be booked by calling the Aero Medical Centre at the Mater Hospital in Dublin on 01-8858615.

Brian Mooney is the former president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors.

E-mail questions to bmooney@irish- times.ie