Winners of the annual Australian Association of Unmanned Systems industry champion awards were announced on Friday with Aviassist being awarded the Education and Safety category for their Train the Trainer program.
Currently, CASA regulations do not dictate the necessity for specific training or licensing requirements for operations within the excluded category and as a result, professional training companies often ignore this category. However, this is a heavily accessed category for beginners, novice users and those who only require the use of smaller aircraft. Aviassist identified a weakness in unmanned system training in the excluded category, and in response to this, have developed a ‘Train the Trainer’ program to reduce risk to those operating in the aviation industry.
The excluded category presents a great opportunity for businesses wishing to adopt unmanned systems and trial them as part of their operations or who currently do not require the use of larger machines. This category allows individuals to operate under strict standard operating conditions with no formal training. Aviassist offers excluded category training but wanted to do more for the industry, which is why the ‘Train the Trainer’ program was established.
Aviassist designed and implemented the innovative ‘Train the Trainer’ program to provide specific training to those operating within the excluded category. The program was developed to not only deliver education to those flying within the excluded category but also train individuals with the necessary skills to teach others how to safely and competently operate unmanned systems.
The program has been successfully undertaken by a number of organisations, giving them the skills to facilitate internal training independently for their unmanned systems training. As a result of the program, these organisations are now able to service long term operations in line with CASA regulations for safe drone operations. Aviassist will continue to offer contracted support and upskilling to maintain standards of operation.
The Train the Trainer program uses specific activities, both theoretical and practical, that are proven to produce proficient remote pilots who understand legal and practical requirements within the Excluded category, with direct instruction on the topics of; Principles and methods of instruction, Theory content delivery and Practical training delivery.
This program increases safety within the aviation industry, through education and accessibility of more trainers. Through proper education, the goal is to create a large selection of proficient teachers who can then pass on the safety education and legal requirements for commercial drone use.
Aviassist is dedicated to providing holistic training solutions and the objective of this training program is to ensure complete safety within the airspace, so this must also include those operating in the excluded category. The overall result of this program will be an exponential growth in the number of educated pilots operating in the excluded category, creating safer airspace for all.
Aviassist has a commitment to the education and safety of all users within the airspace and is proud to have been awarded the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems award for Safety and Education 2020 for their ‘Train the Trainer’ program.
The “Train the Trainer” program remains available during COVID19 disruptions with the theory component available via Aviassist’s “Online Live” platform with practical components planned for completion when the COVID19 disruptions ease.