Aviation has an image problem and continues to fail to get the makeover that is very much needed, according to the industry leaders who attended the Cabin Crew Head of Training Mid-Year Meeting. 

Once the highly sought-after career choice, airlines are currently struggling to attract suitable cabin crew staff and, when they do find the right candidates, they are struggling to keep them on board.

To support training efforts last fall EASA released Guidance Material (GM) for Cabin Crew Initial (Attestation) Training in an effort to standardise training across Europe.

One benefit of this standardised approach would be for cabin crew to move easier from one operator to another, either seasonally or permanently. Current standard practice is to have even highly qualified cabin crew complete initial/attestation training upon starting with a new airline.

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With the demand for qualified cabin crew at an all-time high it seems that airlines are starting to revisit the initial/attestation training requirement.

One airline is experimenting with skipping the initial training in favour of moving directly to conversation training for qualified cabin crew. This underscores the importance of implementing Competency Bases Training and Assessment (CBTA) for cabin crew. As CBTA has become essential training, organisations are looking for additional guidance to support their efforts to improve overall competency to enhance safe operation.

Be sure to join the APATS Cabin Crew Stream to follow the developments in training.