The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) has disclosed that young pilots and engineers are becoming frustrated over the refusal of most Nigerian airlines to train and type-rate them.
A type rating is a type of aircraft certification that is granted by aviation authorities to pilots who have completed training and testing on a specific type of aircraft.
According to Galadima Abednego, the NAAPE president, not training young pilots also deprives them of the experience they require.
“During the Nigeria Airways era, you see that so much training was going on and this helped young people. But currently, airlines would prefer to rather poach from airline A to B. They are just migrating and recycling them,” he lamented.
Abednego said pilots and engineers, after paying heavily to train in school, those who can afford the fees are again forced to pay over N30 million to get type-rated, a training that is supposed to be done by airlines.
“Despite some of these lapses, some of the airlines, particularly in oil and gas, across, you see them bringing expatriates from Eastern Europe, which they consider is maybe cheaper because there will be ready hands. And like I said, fundamentally, because they don’t want to train, we are faced with this issue of succession.
“So you find out that because the highly experienced ones are aging out, and then the young ones are the ones struggling for themselves to get experience, it becomes a difficult situation. So sometimes you experience some huge gap. And that’s a huge challenge,” Abednego said.
The NAAPE president noted that the association has been advocating for the government to pay attention to the aviation industry and support the growth of national carriers.
H, however, expressed relief that Air Peace and Embraer want to build a Maintenance, Repair Overhaul (MRO), which would create more opportunities for young engineers to practice.
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Abednego also emphasised the need for Nigerian airlines pto rioritise local talent and reduce reliance on foreign expatriates.
“We need a national carrier that will have capacity, because there are no investors that will come and begin to put in so much money. But a national carrier, I’m not saying wholly owned by government, but we need a carrier that will have such financial muscle that will drive this industry.”
The NAAPE president also spoke about the challenges of unionisation in the aviation industry, saying that some airlines refuse to recognise the union and negotiate with its members.
“Clearly, yes, while we have refrained from being too disruptive, we have tabled this matter where it needs to be tabled. If you are aware, the last engagement unions had with Festus Keyamo, the minister of aviation and aerospace development in Lagos last year, he actually asked the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to organize a meeting between AON and the unions so that they can engage and build understanding with regards to this,” he explained.
Abednego also highlighted the issue of expatriate quota abuse, saying that some airlines circumvent the law by bringing in foreign workers without proper documentation.
“Expatriate quota is a law. Currently, the Minister of Interior is doing a great job on that. But even at that, the employers try to circumvent some of these things. It’s not only in aviation. So, the Minister of Interior that authored the expatriate quota law should be the one to watch.”
The NAAPE president also emphasised the need for the government’s support and regulation to ensure the growth and development of the aviation industry in Nigeria.
“We need government to pay attention to Nigeria so that these things can be obtainable here. So that if one will need to migrate, it will be a matter of choice, not a necessity.”
Abednego had earlier described the 40th year milestone as a celebration of resilience, sacrifice, and sustained commitment to aviation safety, while unveiling a commemorative logo, marking four decades of service to the aviation industry and Nigeria’s development.
He listed some of the achievements he recorded during his tenure.
“In terms of promoting our members’ welfare, we ensured regularly that all our branches have robust and negotiated conditions of services that are fair and reflective of current realities.
“We relentlessly protected their rights and their jobs . In collaboration with other industry Unions, we have advocated and made presentations both at the Ministerial and National Assembly levels on matters of interest to the industry.
“Most especially during Covid-19 pandemic we advocated and supported bailout package to save the industry.We have engaged in safety promotion activities. We conducted safety workshops and came up with safety evaluation index for the industry and use same to award deserving airlines and other aviation entities,” he said.
To encourage excellence and selfless service, he said the association originated a compendium of 50 outstanding Pilots and Aircraft Engineers using very strict criteria and saw to the release of detailed profiles of its forebearers and recognising their service and sacrifices, thereby providing a reference material and opportunities for direct and indirect mentoring.
“We ensured relevant and regular training of our leadership every year thereby developing their capacities.All these and more were achieved because our predecessors were able to handover to us an Association in piece and with great potentials,” he added.
