Cebu Pacific to shell out $25M for pilot training program

 

"Over the next five years, Cebu Pacific will be investing $25 million for the Cadet Pilot Program," Lance Gokongwei, president and CEO of Cebu Pacific, said in a press conference in Pasay City.

The airline will send out 240 cadets for training with at the Flight Training Adelaide campus in Adelaide, Australia.

The 56-week program includes integrated flying training, flight theory, and education course for an aspirant to become a licensed commercial pilot.

The first 52 weeks will happen in Australia, and the last four weeks will in the Philippines for the cadet pilots to obtain a pilot's license from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines.

Successful candidates will become first officers at Cebu Pacific, flying on both domestic and international routes.

The program operates as a study-now-pay-later scheme, with the graduates expected to serve Cebu Pacific under a separate 10-year training program.

"This program will allow us to train homegrown Filipino pilots with best-in-class international standards ... Cebu Pacific will shoulder the cost first and expose candidates to one of the best pilot training facilities in the world," Gokongwei said.

"Through this program, we aim to have continued access to a pool of highly skilled aviators that would support our growth," he said.

Cebu Pacific will send three batches of aspirants to Australia each year, with 16 cadet-pilots per batch.

Applicants will be screened online, followed by on-site screening for core skills and aptitude tests. A P17,000 fee will be charged for the screening process.

The program is open to all college graduate Filipinos, who are proficient in English and hold a Philippine passport valid for at least two years prior to the start of the program.

The program will start early next year, with the final list of the first batch scheduled to be completed in December 2017. — VDS, GMA News