While a career in aviation was hailed as one of the 10 highest paying jobs in the Philippines right now, a forecast by Boeing’s Pilot and Technical Market Outlook for 2013-2032 states that air traffic is expected to grow 4.7 percent annually over the next 20 years.
This means that the demand for new commercial planes would translate into a need for 498,000 new commercial airline pilots over the next two decades.
According to International Civil Aviation Organization, thousands of pilots will need to be trained to meet the growing demand for air transport, as passengers are forecast to double in the next 15 years.
First Aviation Academy Inc., an integrated aviation career and resource development company, foresees this shortage of aviation professionals and aims to address it.
Established in March 2019, shareholders PTC Group and MacroAsia Corp. invested on the brand-new training center in Subic Bay International Airport with an aim to develop the next generation of world-class Filipino aviation professionals.
The pilot school offers one course: Air Transport Pilot Training. FAA general manager Raoul ‘Arvi’ Perez said the ATPT course is unique because it already contains all the training that one needs to become an airline pilot.
Unlike other training schools, FAA’s ATPT course provides graduates with private pilot license, instrument rating, multi-engine rating, commercial pilot license and air transport pilot license theory.
“On top of that, they will also be trained on several airline-related ground schooling courses,” said Perez. “So I think that differentiates us, because just by getting the ATPT course, you’ll be ready to transition to an airline training.”