jamin35008

Has anyone done this? It sounds great that Colgan would offer this to better prepare for the interview and sim ride. Is it as good as it sounds?

"Because of the current pilot shortage in the regional airline industry Colgan Air has been challenged with keeping our recruiting and hiring standards high while faced with a pool of lower time candidates. In response to this challenge we have developed the Pilot Development Program. Candidates that do not meet our posted minimums would be eligible for this program, at the company's discretion. All candidates will go through our regular interview process, including a full motion simulator evaluation, to determine suitability.

The week-long program will be held at Flight Safety at Hobby in Houston and will include four days of ground school and three days of simulator observation and instruction. The curriculum for the ground school was developed based on the deficiencies that we have seen with new hires in our Saab first officer training over the last year. The primary focus will be an instrument refresher course in a multi-crew environment. The ground school will also include CRM, Situational Awareness, Colgan Air Procedures and Policies, and an overview of Systems and turbine engines. The simulator portion of the training will include a total of 12 hours of observation of our new hires in the SAAB sim and 6 hours of instruction in the King Air C90 simulator. An offer of employment with Colgan Air as a First Officer training candidate will be contingent upon a successful check ride by a check airman after completion of this program. Because this is a pre-hire program, candidates that do not successfully complete the program will not be faced with a failed training on their permanent record.

Colgan Air will subsidize the cost of all expenses associated with this program however candidates will be responsible for their hotel rooms, meals and personal expenses. They will be eligible for Colgan Air's reduced rate at the Spring Hill Suites.

If you know of anyone who would be a good candidate for this program, please feel free to email me their resume at [email protected]. As always, thank you so much for your support." (Quote from USMC-SGT in Colgan Training Contract thread)

ScaryKite

Once again more money that management is using to treat the symptoms of the pilot shortage as opposed to treating the cause!!!!! Raise the bar!

usmc-sgt

We had some problems in the Colgan training contact thread so please folks lets keep this one pertinent to the topic so this one doesnt have to end up closed like the other thread.

Blueskies21

That's great but how do you propose treating the cause.... you think theres a pool of higher time candidates waiting in the wings somewhere saying..you know what if they start paying 30 dollars an hour first year I'm going to go be an airline pilot.... you have to deal with the way it is now not wish for something else....

HIREME

No....you have to change the way it is now in order to get something else later...PROactive vs. REactive

jamin35008

This was the reason I started a new thead, but once again others turn it into something that has nothing to do with what I asked. If you have no useful information please just move on...............

Window_Seat

That's exactly what I think

pilot124

I think this about sums it up.

FlyJSH

I'm not sure why anyone would want to eliminate the pilot "shortage". If there is a shortage of a comodity, the price goes up (but it may take time).

Personally, I don't believe there is a pilot shortage. Yes, the pool is drying up, but it is not gone. A sampling of regional minimums shows an average of about 500/100. The FAA says a 250 hour Comm AMEL can be an FO. 250 is significantly lower than 500 hours: it seems some companies STILL have canidates to choose from. True, there are one or two companies whose minimums ARE Comm AMEL. Those companies will need to get creative to fill the pilot slots. Already we have seen companies willing to pay signing bonuses, even lower minimums with jet transition (or whatever they are called) courses, large newhire classes with high failure rates, and now Colgan is trying the Pilot Development Program.

The results of these creative solutions?
(1) Signing bonuses were eliminated almost immidately due to contract violation and general pilot outcry
(2) Jet transition folks paid a ton of money for some ground school and a few hours in a sim
(3) large newhire classes with high failure rates: costly and sends many folks home with a busted checkride
(4) Colgan's Pilot Development Program... results unknown for the company. But for a lowtime applicant there is no out of pocket cost (other than room and board) and no risk: if the applicant does poorly, there is no busted checkride on record.

Is Colgan's solution good for the industry.... I don't know. But at least it may keep a few over eager and ill prepared people from getting a black mark that would follow them the rest of thier carreer. Who knows, the Pilot Development Program may be the beginning of ab-initio progams here in the U.S.


(For the record, I have quit debating how low is too low. The Feds say 250 is enough, and they make the rules.)

FlyingPoke

Low timer here... got a link for the program? Looked on the website and just saw the minimums, nothing about the program... thanks in advance.