The Royal Canadian Air Force Wants to Train More Pilots. Will It Be Successful?

October 2, 2011 By David Pugliese Defence Watch

The Royal Canadian Air Force is not training enough pilots to meet its demands.

That was the message Lt.-Gen. Andre Deschamps, the head of the air force, had for Vice Admiral Bruce Donaldson, the vice chief of the defence staff, earlier this year. Deschamps acknowledged that he couldn’t produce the 125 new pilots he needs each year.

Deschamps expects to reach that target next year or the year after. Some military sources raise doubts that will happen.

So what is the air force doing about the pilot training issue? Here is the response from the Air Force:

* The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) intends to increase pilot production to meet present and future requirements for pilot positions across the Canadian Forces. Those that are most important positions are given the priority.

* The principal challenge with personnel attrition is the fact that the Air Force is losing its cohort of Baby Boomers who are reaching the end of their career. This is the same for most employers across Canada.

* The Air Force is actively involved in developing and implementing retention strategies and measures, and attracting former service members and facilitating their re-enrolment. Just during FY11/12 so far, the Air Force has re-enrolled a dozen skilled pilots.

* Pilot employment patterns have been modified somewhat to fill the Air Force’s most pressing needs and to maintain the most effective balance of experience in all pilot flying and staff officer positions and instructional billets. This will allow us to continue to build our Air Force capacity over the short and medium term.

* The Air Force is also actively involved in developing and implementing retention strategies and measures, and attracting former service members and facilitating their re-enrolment. There have been significant enhancements to the CF pay and benefits package over the past few years, and many former service members miss the excitement and opportunities of military life. The Air Force is welcoming these trained and experienced people back.

* The Air Force is working tirelessly to maximize the efficiency of its pilot training schools by tailoring instruction to operational needs, increasing the use of synthetic training such as simulators and emulators, and refining training methods.

In addition, we are approaching the issue of pilot production from a holistic system approach to improve recruitment, selection and training. This fall, we will implement more refined selection methods, which will identify those candidates most likely to succeed in pilot training. In other words, a better baseline candidate is more likely to pass pilot training and is more likely to be a better pilot in the end. This will allow us to better select the right people for the organization.

In the interim, the Air Force is employing its people effectively by identifying where they are most needed in order to achieve mission success.

But will this be enough?