Originally Posted by
Aviator2019
Looking to find out if anyone out there has had issues with the training procedures at SkyWest.
We had 7 hirees (thus far) resign and/or fail the November class. It was very clear that the company didn’t care to put forth any effort to assist those who were having difficulties, and left much to be handled by whichever students were willing to head-up study groups (in our class’ case, there were none). The company loves to pledge assistance, but the “help” they offered us was the advice “You either get it, or you get out.”
To all potential people looking to sign on with SKW, there are some stringent rules that the company adheres to, and will absolutely not deviate from:
“Three strikes - you’re out” policy, even if you are struggling and have asked for help. (in my case, my sim partner resigned, and I was not given a replacement to work with)
SKW considers “failure” to be anything below 80% (even on internal tests and exams), and accumulating 3 failures throughout the training program (even on small company tests) results in a termination on the pilot’s PRIA report.
Struggling during FTD / Sim means that they will intentionally limit the amount of help they will offer. You’re allotted exactly 10 hours of extra instruction, and to exceed this will result in a termination (again, on the PRIA report).
I feel very strongly after going through the SKW groundschool that the training department is run on fear. Anyone going into SKW should be aware of these policies and take a long, hard look at which airline they’re choosing. These are things I wish I would’ve known. SKW prides itself on having a very positive, caring culture for its employees, but their actions do not foster this kind of environment. Instead, they seem to pride themselves on the number of pilots who don’t make it through the program.
I'm sorry that the experience has left you with a negative feeling however,
I'd ask pilots what training/checking standards exactly, should a part 121 airline have? It's all relative really. When I went through initial there were no policy provisions AT ALL regarding a new hire getting extra time. You were expected to pass in the time allotted and were only given extra under extenuating circumstances. My SIM partner had issues in his family life and was given every conceivable option to work through it...back then.
I upgraded during the "up or out" times. This means that I, along with every other pilot that upgraded before me, sat in our oral and our check ride knowing in the back of our minds that a failure was the END. Our career and all aspirations would be over. Perhaps this is the type of performance under pressure required by an airline pilot?
Fast forward to the now where people get upset that they were only allotted 5 extra SIM sessions. 5 extra sessions doubles the number of maneuvers. Or they complain about not having a partner. True that it robs you of being able to learn from others mistakes, assuming you could process those mistakes. Another perspective might be that have an instructor as your partner keeps things flowing smoothly and gives you even more time to work on your own issues. Many different instructors causing lack of cohesion, or perhaps several different perspectives to figure out the best way to get through.
It pains me more than I can verbalize when someone cant get through. I mean real pain being experienced. But my pain has been reduced over the years watching more and more the feeling that pilots coming in believe that they are owed something from training. I admit that the industry is doing guys no favors by hiring them with 1000 hours and no turbine time but I have seen pilots being given every possible chance and extension to get through. How someone could see fault in that is perplexing. Pilots need to assess themselves and their abilities. Remember also that pilots are offered the option of resigning so as to keep training failures from their PRIA.
I truly believe, as was stated before that some people simply cant do this job. They may have started too late, or they may simply have a different skill set. But before one gets too bent about the policy, perhaps they should recall that there are real lives depending on the proficiency in the flight deck. If one cant get through with 3 strikes, or with double the sim time, or if I have to take the controls from from a pilot on a short approach because they cant get stable, it might be that complaining about the Skywest training department is not where one should be focusing their energy.
I dont know if Skywest has the BEST training department. I only have one point of view and nothing to compare to. I can say however, without doubt that no pilot has failed out for lack of being given a real opportunity to succeed, within a policy that was never so giving in the history of part 121 airline training.