A Non-Resident Indian, heading a Canadian company, is planning to set up an aviation academy in India to train pilots, maintenance engineers and technicians to meet shortage of skilled personnel in India's expanding aviation industry.
The academy, a joint venture project, would conduct short term courses approved by the Director General of Civil Aviation and Transport Canada to train pilots and ground staff, Hemant H Shah, managing director of Cubex India, a Winnipeg-based company, said.
Shah, who plans to invest $1 million into the venture said pilots would be trained for six months in Winnipeg, Canada where they would get 250 hours of flying experience, and receive ground training in Pune. On completion of training, the pilots would obtain the commercial pilot license to fly two-engine small aircraft.
The academy would also provide training with the help of licensed Canadian instructors in the areas of customer service such as ground handling, security, reservations, ticketing and airport management. The training would be of international standards with emphasis on on-the-job training, Shah added.
Addressing the need for such ventures, Shah quoted a study conducted by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation projects which estimated an additional 3,200 jobs for pilots, besides over 100,000 jobs for ground and maintenance staff.