SriLankan’s IAA concludes first IATA Regional Training Partner

Monday, 1 December 2014 02:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

SriLankan Airlines’ International Aviation Academy (IAA) has been an IATA authorised training centre for more than a decade and its recent performance as IATA’s prestigious World’s best (premier circle) and Asia’s best training institute for three consecutive years resulted in its appointment as IATA’s Regional Training Partner (RTP) from year 2014. This recognition endorses IAA’s already established image as the best professional aviation training institute of the country that is on par with the internationally recognised training institutes. IAA had successfully and completed its first RTP program ‘IATA/Advanced Airline Marketing’ recently, at its state-of-the-art training facility in Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake with the participation of 25 aviation industry professionals. This program was facilitated by IATA’s international instructor Cheong Chen Lucky from Singapore, who has over three decades of experience in aviation marketing and management as a senior manager and consultant of many airlines. This program was well received by the participants as a novel experience and a wealth of knowledge opening them to international training in aviation. Participants who followed this program are also having the opportunity of qualifying themselves for IATA’s prestigious Airline Business Development Diploma Program and Harvard Mange Mentor programs.

IATA-RTP status opens a new avenue for professionals in Sri Lankan aviation industry to follow many high quality international aviation training programs at an affordable price, with the luxury of following these programs in their own country. IAA’s aim of offering these programs is to contribute to the manpower and professional development of country’s booming aviation sector while providing a platform for developing international aviation training hub in Sri Lanka by attracting foreign participants to the country. This will contribute to the government’s vision of developing the country as aviation and knowledge hub in Asia. IATA’s Advanced Train the Trainer program commenced on 17 November 2014 with the participation of 25 aviation training professionals including international participants from Cambodia, India, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai. This program solidifies the initial success of IAA as an IATA regional training partner. Also in the lineup is an array of advanced international aviation programs in the coming year to cater to the training requirements in the aviation industry locally and internationally. IAA, with its region’s best aviation training centre status is aiming to attract more foreign and local industry partners for these programs. The International Aviation Academy (IAA) of SriLankan Airlines has been a pioneering training body in South Asia that also has received a prestigious recognition from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), as one of the World’s Top Ten Authorised Aviation Training Centres of its 2013 Premier Circle – an assessment made on the evaluation of 440 aviation training centres in 90 countries. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is the trade association for the world’s airlines, representing 240 airlines from 115 countries. IATA based in Montreal, Canada is comprised of 63 offices in 60 countries and represent 84% of the airline industry in the world. IATA is also the largest and most prestigious training and development body in aviation. IATA has training partners worldwide and IATA offers different status for its training partners based on their standards, quality and performance of aviation training. IATA’s highest standard awarded for a training institute is the Regional Training Partner (RTP) status. This status is equal to the level of IATA’s own training centre and has the privilege of offering training programs internationally and promoted those programmes for international participants through all IATA network. This prestigious status is currently awarded by IATA to only 26 institutes worldwide and only four centres in Asia having this status. With this status any aviation institute is elevated to the level of highest international recognition and prominence in world aviation education sector.