In only three years, CAE has rapidly established the leading independent aviation training presence in India with the capability to train hundreds of ab initio cadets and thousands of airline pilots annually. Company-managed pilot academies in Gondia and Rai Bareilly cater to young people aspiring to aviation careers. Then, with their commercial pilot licence (CPL) in hand, cadets progress to type-rating training, provided at the new CAE Training Centre near Bengaluru and other training centres worldwide. The result is a cadre of highly qualified pilots to address the growing crew needs of airlines in India and the region.

The campuses at Gondia and Rai Bareilly are part of the CAE Global Academy, the world’s largest network of airlinefocused flight schools. Other CAE Global Academy locations are in Africa, Australia, Europe, Malaysia and North America. Overall, the 11 members of the CAE Global Academy have the capacity to train nearly 2,000 cadets each year.

CAE Global Academy Gondia, also known as the National Flight Training Institute (NFTI), is a joint venture between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and CAE. It features a completely new campus with state-of-the-art classrooms, flight simulation training devices, glass-cockpit aircraft and comfortable accommodations. Indeed, the facilities were designed by CAE experts to optimize learning effectiveness in balance with the students’ well-being. In November, a new sports complex was inaugurated with a traditional Indian blessing ceremony. The sports complex includes a fitness and weight room, squash court, table tennis room and billiards salon.

Announced in February 2008 and initially approved for operations by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) in February 2009, CAE Global Academy, Gondia, will honour its first three graduating classes at a formal inauguration of the campus on February 9.

The first Gondia cadet to be hired by an airline, Shivani Reddy from Chennai, obtained her Boeing 737NG type rating at Emirates-CAE Flight Training in Dubai, and is now a pilot with SpiceJet. “I always dreamed of becoming a pilot, and the training I received prepared me well,” Ms. Reddy said. Other members of the initial class are being interviewed by various airlines such as IndiGo and Jet Airways or are pursuing type ratings.

Prospective cadets are required to take a screening exam which uses the CAE Aircrew Selection System -- a multidisciplinary, unbiased and equitable process designed to evaluate a candidate’s “thinking and doing” capabilities in a contextual aviation environment and under stress. Examinations are conducted in Bengaluru and Delhi, as well as Gondia.