Moorabbin Airport-based Oxford Aviation Academy (OAA), in partnership with Jetstar and Swinburne University, has launched two new mentored airline pilot training courses.
Under the partnership, OAA will offer the new Ab Initio Cadet (AIC) Pilot Program, for students with zero previous flight experience; and the Advanced Cadet (AC) Pilot Program, for students who already hold a CPL with Command Instrument Rating. The new programs are aimed at removing some of the traditional barriers to becoming a commercial jet pilot and are on offer to Australian and New Zealand citizens.
To keep up with growth demand, Jetstar employs the European airline pilot training model, which enables cadet airline pilots, once trained, to commence employment with the airline as First Officers flying Airbus A320-type aircraft without needing to build command time beforehand. OAA has been delivering this ab initio model of airline pilot training for almost 50 years from its Oxford base in the United Kingdom.
New cadets enrolled in the AIC Program will also enrol in an Associate Degree program at the Hawthorn campus of Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology (SUT), and thereby be eligible to gain financial assistance through the FEE-HELP scheme. For students entering the AC Program, funding will be fully provided by Jetstar, with costs later recovered through salary sacrifice during airline employment.
Competition for the available places is expected to be extremely stiff. Up to 70 students will be accepted in the first year of the program, with short-listed applicants undergoing a joint OAA/Jetstar Skills Selection at Moorabbin involving computerised testing, psychometric profiling, simulator flight exercises, group exercises, and individual interviews.
