The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NCAT

  • NCAT to acquire training aircraft

    THE Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) would soon acquire new fleet of training aircraft, the Aviation Minister, Chief Osita Chidoka, has said.

    Chidoka, who spoke at the college’s 50th anniversary, said the institution must continue to live up to expectations.

    He said: “Government is at the verge of awarding contract to re-fleet the training aircraft.”

    Chidoka said the purchase of B737 simulator for the college was a testimony to President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation of aviation.

    Nigeria, the minister, would rely on NCAT’s  ability for the training of the needed manpower for the aviation sector.

    Chidoka said the zero-tolerance for accident in the sector would be achieved through the training and re-training of aviation workers.

    He said the next 50 years of the college would be glorious, adding that it had just started with the celebrations.

    The Rector of NCAT, Capt. Samuel Caulcrick, said the college had impacted on the landscape of aviation development.

    Caulcrick noted that NCAT graduates had always held their own in air safety and high level competence worldwide.

    The college, he added, was offering aviation a significant   change that  it could be proud of and a leadership that could be trusted.

    Caulcrick said interim accreditation, pending the amendment of the colleges enabling acts, had been granted by the National Board for Technical Education for National Diploma and Higher National Diploma.

    He said NCAT was in dire need of upgrades for effectiveness, adding that most of the administrative buildings and residential quarters required attention.

    The rector mentioned challenges facing the college to include subsidise and fiscal allocations from the Federation Account, adding that the continued operation of the college was subject to good economic health.

  • NCAT Act for amendment

    The Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in Zaria, Kaduna State, is set to  amend its enabling act to make it independent of the Ministry of Aviation, its Rectors Captain Samuel Caulcrick, has said.

    He said the amendment of the enabling Act had become imperative, because the college needs to reposition itself as the foremost aviation training college in West Africa after 50 years of its existence.

    He said preparations were in top gear to celebrate the insttution’s 50th anniversary this month.

    The document, intended to facilitate the amendment of the college’s  Act, he said was in the Ministry of Justice undergoing processing.

    Caulcrick  said: “We are trying to change the Enabling Act. Don’t forget that the existing Act is one of the oldest in the aviation industry today. It is 50 years, it needs to be amended. We are in the process of achieving that.”

    He also said the document to achieve the amendment of the Act had  been sent to the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

    “All we are waiting for is a directive from the Federal Executive Council before it is sent to the National Assembly,” he said.

    He regretted that the Act had  positioned  the college as an arm of the Ministry of Aviation with  its limitations.

    “This is part of the constraints we have,” he added.

    On efforts to move the college forward, the Rector noted that NCAT had secured temporary accreditation from the National Board of Technical Education (NBTE) to start Diploma courses.

    He said the entry requirements for some  professional courses in the college has been upgraded to first degree.

    “But we are not sure where we are, whether we are going to make the entry for all our courses, first degree, particularly flying because we need to capture them early. That is why in the past we take them after the School Certificate Examination, but now, we have over a million of Nigerians who are willing to go into aviation and have acquired their first degree at 22. That is still okay for us because we have a limit.’’

  • 21 air traffic controllers graduate at NCAT

    Twenty-one Cadet Air Traffic Controllers have graduated from the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, (NCAT), Zaria in Kaduna State.

    Speaking at the graduation, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Ibrahim Abdulsalam, urged the students  to  justify the investments in their training by  being committed and dedicated to duty, in the interest of safety of the airspace.

    Abdulsalam noted that as part of the transformation of the sector, resulting in the remodelling of airports and the deployment of sophisticated communication, navigation, surveillance  and air traffic management infrastructure among others, across the country, NAMA is investing on the training and retraining of personnel, particularly the critical manpower resources to ensure the safe, effective, economic and efficient use of these equipment and to keep pace with the dynamics of new technology.

    NAMA boss said: ”The increasing demand for air traffic services over the years, occasioned by the rapid growth in population and the establishment of state and privately owned airports nationwide vis a vis the high turnover of critical manpower arising from retirements and deaths prompted the agency to resort to contracting retired Air Traffic Controllers and Air Traffic Engineers as a short-term remedy.”

    He assured that with efforts at training young ATC cadets, the challenge would soon be tackled.

    He praised the graduates for their perseverance and hard work. He also gave kudos to the management of NCAT for the tremendous support and co-operation accorded the students during their stay.

    The Rector of NCAT, Capt. Samuel Caulcrick, pointed out that the high academic standard and rigorous training offered by the institution makes it stand out as a centre of excellence and one of the best in the world.

    He urged the graduating students to be worthy ambassadors of NCAT by impacting positively to the growth of the nation’s aviation industry.

    In its determination to bridge the manpower gap in ATC services, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency in 2012 recruited 50 ATC Cadets with batch AC 57 and 58 resuming at NCAT in February, last  year while AC59 resumed in July, same year.

    Earlier, the Managing Director of NAMA,  Abdulsalam, accompanied by a top management delegation, including the Director of Human Resources, Dr Uwem Akangson and the Acting Director of Operations, Mr Edward Ogedegbe, toured facilities at the institution.

    Places visited include the Area Airways Department, General ATS Department (which boasts of a 3D 360 Visual Tower Simulator for aerodrome control training), Flight Line and Hanger as well as the Flying School.

  • 21 air traffic controllers graduate at NCAT

    Twenty-one Cadet Air Traffic Controllers have graduated from the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, (NCAT), Zaria in Kaduna State.

    Speaking at the graduation, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Ibrahim Abdulsalam, urged the students  to  justify the investments in their training by  being committed and dedicated to duty, in the interest of safety of the airspace.

    Abdulsalam noted that as part of the transformation of the sector, resulting in the remodelling of airports and the deployment of sophisticated communication, navigation, surveillance  and air traffic management infrastructure among others, across the country, NAMA is investing on the training and retraining of personnel, particularly the critical manpower resources to ensure the safe, effective, economic and efficient use of these equipment and to keep pace with the dynamics of new technology.

    NAMA boss said: ”The increasing demand for air traffic services over the years, occasioned by the rapid growth in population and the establishment of state and privately owned airports nationwide vis a vis the high turnover of critical manpower arising from retirements and deaths prompted the agency to resort to contracting retired Air Traffic Controllers and Air Traffic Engineers as a short-term remedy.”

    He assured that with efforts at training young ATC cadets, the challenge would soon be tackled.

    He praised the graduates for their perseverance and hard work. He also gave kudos to the management of NCAT for the tremendous support and co-operation accorded the students during their stay.

    The Rector of NCAT, Capt. Samuel Caulcrick, pointed out that the high academic standard and rigorous training offered by the institution makes it stand out as a centre of excellence and one of the best in the world.

    He urged the graduating students to be worthy ambassadors of NCAT by impacting positively to the growth of the nation’s aviation industry.

    In its determination to bridge the manpower gap in ATC services, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency in 2012 recruited 50 ATC Cadets with batch AC 57 and 58 resuming at NCAT in February, last  year while AC59 resumed in July, same year.

    Earlier, the Managing Director of NAMA,  Abdulsalam, accompanied by a top management delegation, including the Director of Human Resources, Dr Uwem Akangson and the Acting Director of Operations, Mr Edward Ogedegbe, toured facilities at the institution.

    Places visited include the Area Airways Department, General ATS Department (which boasts of a 3D 360 Visual Tower Simulator for aerodrome control training), Flight Line and Hanger as well as the Flying School.

  • ‘Fed Govt should patronise NCAT’

    The National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) has called on the Federal Government to patronise the Nigerian College  of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in Zaria, Kaduna State to train pilots and aircraft engineers under the Presidential Amnesty Programme.

    Training pilots and aircraft engineers on government scholarship at the NCAT, the association said, would save costs  and  reduce capital flight.

    The huge sums spent to train the pilots abroad, NAAPE said, should be deployed in NCAT, which requires adequate funding to actualise its mandate and accelerate development.

    According to the Public Relations Officer of NAAPE, Bunmi Gindeh, the use of the college for the training of pilots and engineers will assist the institution in many areas.

    NAAPE spoke against the backdrop of the over 127 pilots and engineers that recently graduated from their training  and type rating in different institutions across the world.

    The pilots and aircraft engineers were trained at Afrika Union Aviation Academy, Mafikeng, South Africa,  Lufthansa Flight Training Network, in Germany, Fujairah Aviation Academy, United Arab Emirates and  Royal Jordanian Academy, Amman, Jordan .

    Gindeh said: “Allowing the pilots to be trained at the aviation college in Zaria , would  help the institution with highly needed funds for development, as well as mitigate against capital flight, not to talk of the cost saving element.

    “This effort would definitely help in bridging the gap of availability of trained manpower in the country.”

    The  NAAPE official added that NCAT has standard training facilities and manpower for training of pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers.

    The official said the association is  excited over the local content bill proposed by the National Assembly to make it mandatory for airlines to employ certain number of indigenous pilots in their flight deck.

    Gindeh added: “National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) is overjoyed with the statement of intention of the President of the Senate with regard to an impending aviation local content act.

    “We are happy that the intended act will make it mandatory for local and foreign airlines to engage Nigerian pilots and aircraft maintenance engineers.”

  • Committee declares war against touts

    The National Committee against Touting and other Related Matters (NCAT), Anambra State command, decried yesterday the activities of touts and hoodlums, who extort money from people.

    The body lamented unscrupulous individuals’ diversion of government’s revenue into their pockets, warning that it would no longer be business as usual.

    The deputy state coordinator of the group, Okwudili Ohanazoeze, told reporters in Onitsha that touts’ activities were a challenge, which the command would no longer tolerate.

    He said the command would fight hoodlums, who extorted money from barrow pushers, tricycle operators, motorcyclists and luggage carriers in markets.

    Ohanazoeze said it was regrettable that the state had lost billions of naira to touts.

  • ‘Why there are jobless pilots in Nigeria’

    The Rector, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology ( NCAT), Captain Chinyere Kalu has attributed the inability of young Nigerians to secure jobs in indigenous airlines to the attitude of proprietors who prefer expatriates.

    She accused the proprietors of not helping the sector with their preference for foreign pilots, who she said, do not understand the terrain and weather of the country as opposed to their indigenous counterparts, who were trained locally.

    In an interview in Zaria in Kaduna, Kaduna State at the weekend, Kalu said the perceived shortage of pilots and engineers in Nigeria is traceable to the unpatriotic attitude of indigenous airline owners who continue to employ foreigners. “My disappointment and discouragement stems from the fact that our Nigerian businessmen and operators are not patronising home grown pilots and engineers. They will rather employ a green horn with 200 flying hours from the United States (US) or anywhere instead of employing our own home grown, well trained pilots who may even have up to 250 or 300 flyinghours”

    She said it is not true that there is shortage of indigenous pilots and engineers, but airline owners just prefer to employ foreign pilots who may not properly understand the terrain and weather of Nigeria like the home grown pilots. “These airline owners need to demonstrate patriotism by employing our pilots,” she emphasised.

    Kalu also spoke of plans by the college to start helicopter training and degree awarding programmes this year. Speaking on the transformation of the college in the past three years, she said training of helicopter pilots will kick off as soon as the college takes delivery of its acquired Bell 206 helicopters in Lagos.

    According to her, it has become necessary to introduce helicopter training as 80 per cent of helicopter pilots were foreigners being used for off shore oil rigs in the Niger Delta. She explained: “It’s a very sensitive area and key in our economy and should be well secured. Having such operations done by foreigners is not in the best interest of our nation. If Nigerians are in the forefront in taking over fixed wing operators, I don’t see the reason rotary wings should be left in the hands of foreigners especially the sensitive nature of such operations. The training will commence this year, and we need smaller helicopters to start.”

  • ‘Why there’s shortage of indigenous pilots’

    ‘Why there’s shortage of indigenous pilots’

    The inbility of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), in Zaria, Kaduna State to graduate students for a while, is the reason there is a shortage of indigenous pilots in the country, the acting Rector of the International Aviation College ( IAC), Ilorin, Captain Nuhu Abdulkarim, has said.

    Abdulkarim explained that before the International Aviation College , Ilorin was established in 2012, only (NCAT), in Zaria, was in existence, and for a period of about 10-11yeras, they were not producing graduates, that accounted for the shortage, he said.

    He told The Nation that there has been a dearth of professionals, not only pilots, but engineers and dispatchers. This is because we used to have only one recognised organisation, which is the NCAT, adding that the shortage of aviation professionals is having a ripple effect on the Nigerian aviation sector , as airlines are left with no choice than to hire expatriate pilots.

    The rector urged domestic airline owners to invest in the training of indigenous pilots , affirming that it is one of the ways of curbing the invasion of the industry by foreigners.

    He said: “Nigerian airlines are not training indigenous pilots. They are not participating in training, that is why people are poaching from one airline to another. I am a product of Nigeria Airways, the former national carrier that invested money in the training of Nigerian pilots. Airlines should sponsor pilots for training.This is what led, in the past to the poaching of trained pilots. When poaching was not more possible, they started bringing in expatriates.”

    He therefore urged corporate originations, state and local governments and private individuals to key into the training opportunity offered by the International Aviation College (IAC) to develop the needed manpower in the aviation industry.

    Abdulkarim said sponsoring students to the school would help the industry curtail the huge amount it spends in hard currency in taking students abroad for training, as well as save airlines huge sums ofmoney paid to foreign expatriate professionals yearly.

    In his words, “What Kwara State government has done was to provide the enabling environment. We are building capacity for the aviation industry and Kwara State government is helping. Every training you do here, you save the Nigerian economy about $200, 000 every year. I have expatriates here. I don’t like or hate them because we are one family under ICAO (the International Civil Aviation Organisation).

    This infrastructure has come to stay. Let Nigerians start sponsoring people. We are not saying you should not patronise South Africa or Dubai or anywhere, but let corporate responsibility happen, sponsor Nigerians and keep them. The capacity to train and the standard to train here is comparable to any institutions.

    The Rector said the college Is equipped with seven Diamond trainer aircraft and other world class facilities run in collaboration with oxford Aviation college in the United Kingdom.

    He said the kwara state government does not interfere with the day-to-day running of the college but has assembled the right professionals to ensure that the school is run in such as way as to maintain the standards as required by ICAO.

    Abdulkarim said the classrooms are computer aid instructions, run by Oxford, adding, “if Oxford sees that we are not doing what is there on that system, they will cut us off from the system. We cannot change the books. We cannot even photocopy any part of the book, we are not allowed. Oxford does not run the college, but we have a partnership whereby we use their books and the books have been approved by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).”

    He said though the school is estatablished and funded by kwara State government, it is being run on private sector standards. “From a business perspective, the College has no choice than to make sure that all its facilities are upgraded and ensure we are world standard at any time.

    “This is because we are the only one in the West African sub-region that offers world class training for pilots and other cadre of manpower in aviation in line with world standards. We have to make sure everything is done properly. The College is being run on private sector standards; it is not like another government parastatal that you expect would be run down,” he added.

  • Jakande, ex-Airways’ workers back national carrier

    Former Lagos State Governor Lateef Jakande and former workers of the liquidated Nigeria Airways Limited yesterday supported Federal Government’s plan to establish a national carrier.

    The former governor said the new national carrier should be strengthened to compete with other airlines.

    Jakande spoke in Lagos at the public presentation of a book, titled: The Big Conspiracy: Travails of a Progressive Safety Regulator In A Not So Progressive Aviation Industry, by the ex-Rector of the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Mrs Folashade Odutola.

    The former governor noted that Nigeria should have a carrier to fly its flag across the world, as the liquidated Nigeria Airways Limited did in its heyday.

    He said the government needed to put measures in place to strengthen airlines.

    Odutola, an aeronautical engineer, urged the government not to fund a national carrier but to designate indigenous airlines as flag carriers.

    She said the nation’s airlines could be strengthened to compete with foreign ones.

    According to her, the era of government sinking funds into a national carrier was over.

    Odutola said such funds should be channelled into other areas of priority in the Aviation sector.

  • Airline launches Dreamliner

    An expert has decried the dearth of books for training to enhance the development of the industry.

    Chief Aeronautical Telecommunication Engineering Instructor, Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, Emmanuel Onwuka, spoke in Lagos at the weekend.

    He told reporters that this has become worrisome not only to the institution but also to others.

    He said it was becoming difficult to get materials for training and research, adding that only the continuous publishing of materials for students and personnel will remedy the situation.

    Onwuka added that even when these books are available, they are not comprehensive, adding that with more books on the shelves, the stress on students will be reduced.

    It was in realisation of this inadequacy, he said, that he is writing a book to bridge the gap.

    The book titled: “Introduction to Air Navigation System Maintenance in Nigeria”, he added, boost learning.