Training issues at SKW
#22
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jul 2008
Posts: 4,202
You think sapa and the company are that coordinated to pull that off?? And instructors were not EVER told to let anyone through the cracks... your statement is false.
#23
Thanks for the encouragement. I actually used up my extra sessions. I really did enjoy the whole experience even though I wasn’t able to finish. I made some great friends and most of the instructors were fantastic. My flows and callouts were a little behind. Everything “clicked” for me but it happened just a little too late. I put a business and family life on hold to do this and have to evaluate whether I want to do it again. I love to fly and may look for a local gig or something else on the west coast. I have no regrets for the time I spent at SW and would consider giving it another shot. A friend just got through E175 training and is enjoying it and telling me I should come back😁
Common enough for folks new to 121 to not quite get there (especially if you're older, the neurons just don't fire as quickly as they used to). If you come back to the same plane you should do fine (at OO or another airline).
#24
I can't help but wonder if something like is what is behind mr. apple's statement.
I've made mistakes on the line, and have learned from them, thanks to gracious captains who were willing to share their knowledge. I've also flown with captains who have made mistakes on the line and learned from them, graciously, after I've suggested that something wasn't quite right. And, I've flown with one or two captains who believed they could do no wrong while acting in direct contradiction to the SOPM (full reversers down to taxi speed with > 2000' of runway remaining for example) but even there I learned something from them. Fortunately the latter seem to be few and far between at SKW. Almost everyone is great to work with.
#25
I absolutely hate the commonly told advice that you must study together in groups. Yes, that works and is apparently necessary for some people. But for others (myself included), it’s completely unnecessary and actually counterproductive. I’ve always touched base with my sim partner, and for sure the two of you MUST practice flows and call outs to be successful. But studying together? Not necessary.
Yes, absolutely must do flows and profiles with your sim buddy (or somebody if you don't have a sim buddy).
Now that I’m at a major, I agree that SkyWest has a fantastic training program (much better than the place I ended up at). It’s challenging in that there’s a lot of stuff covered, but if you put in the effort it’s very reasonable and I have witnessed the training department bend over backwards to help people that are struggling. I’ve also seen people that showed up with an entitled attitude get their butt handed to them.
Yup. Had both, if you're prepared it will be fine. Those guys are old school, they expect pilots to have backbone, so sit up straight, look 'em in the eye, and speak with confidence. The folks who get in trouble with them are the ones who show up hoping to throw hail marys to santa claus...
#26
Line Holder
Joined APC: Jun 2018
Posts: 25
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.
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.
#28
Work hard, study & don’t spend all your few time at Lofte’s. SkyWest is running new hire classes in excess of 100 per month and most of them do pass. To the OP, if you do go to another airline, blaming the company will get you nowhere fast. Push yourself, ask questions, write emails to the training department if you have to...do your due-diligence.
Good luck!
Good luck!
#29
Line Holder
Joined APC: Dec 2009
Posts: 94
Industry leading? Is the training, train to proficiency? Is there the ability to get a different instructor? Is there the ability for a union rep to observe a training session? Is there a training review board? Those are all things that are standard at most unionized airlines.
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blaquehawk99
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06-11-2015 09:51 AM