I am doing the Leaving Certificate next June and have been exploring the options for studying to become a pilot. I entered the search word 'pilot' into the Qualifax website under courses and came up with two courses offered by the Pilot Training College of Ireland. Do you know anything about this programme, and what other options are open to me, if there are any others?
There are a number of options available to you. The Air Corps inducts up to 10 cadets a year. Defence Forces cadetships are advertised every January/ February. The selection process- including medicals and psychometric testing - is carried out over a number of months. Cadets are inducted in September/ October. They undergo a military cadetship and receive pilot training for a further 15 months from basic to advanced flying. Following completion of cadet training the Air Corps cadet is offered a 12-year commission.
The Pilot Training College of Ireland to which you refer is based at Waterford Airport, and offers a full-time airline pilot training course. The course will train student pilots right up to the point where they are 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 being completed in Florida in the US. The cost is 85,000, which includes all your regulatory required flight and ground training, equipment, books, fees and accommodation.
For more information log on to www.pilottraining.ie
A third option is Pilot Recruitment International, an Irish-based company that carries out all its training in Canada. The cost is 65,000 for a one- year programme, which includes food and accommodation. Training is adapted from the Royal Canadian Air force, and candidates are selected using an online aptitude test, followed by an interview with a commercial pilot. Students must be prepared to join their internship programme for 12 months following graduation, where they will work as paid flight instructors. The reasoning behind this is to allow their graduates to gain work experience and guarantee the school a good supply of instructors. See www.priacademy.com
There are many reasons why now may be a good time to consider training as a pilot.
Pilot Jobs: Statistics indicate that hiring is accelerating at an unprecedented rate, with many major airlines as well as smaller charter companies actively seeking pilots. This trend is expected to continue indefinitely as people from emerging economies in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia begin commuting by plane. There is a forecasted requirement that Ryanair, Aer Arann, City Jet and Aer Lingus, who are all hiring extensively, will be actively recruiting pilots over the coming years.
Availability of finance: Most banks and lending institutions are now amenable to providing funding for student pilots, given the salaries earned by qualified pilots. 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 for a qualified pilot. Many airline captains are earning well over 150,000 a year.
What to do now
Research: Look at all the options within Ireland and abroad, by researching carefully the range of courses on offer.
Get assessed: 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, which can be booked by calling 051-876706.
Medical: For any commercial pilot training course you will need to have a JAA class one medical examination, costing approximately 500, which can be booked by calling 01- 8858615 at the Aero Medical Centre at the Mater Hospital in Dublin.
