Resilient Pilot Awarded Share of DfT ‘Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund’

Resilient Pilot has been awarded funding as part of the Department for Transport (DfT)’s ‘Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund’ to inspire and educate aspiring aviators between the ages of 11-18. The virtual programme aligns with the UK Government’s ‘Reach for The Sky’ programme objectives (raising the profile of the industry, outreach programmes, career pathways, skills and training) and Generation Aviation Campaign, which aims to attract young people across the UK into aviation and raise awareness of all the opportunities within the sector. ICAO’s Next Generation Aviators Programme predicts global shortages of aviators until 2040. Resilient Pilot will play a key role to ensure there is a continuous pipeline of talented and resilient professionals entering the industry over the next 10 years.

Over the long-term, the programme aims to reach 50,000 students, while encouraging 10% of them to embark upon the NextGen five-year continuous programme. Resillient Pilot will be collaborating with Skyborne Airline Academy with CEO, Lee Woodward agreeing to support the evolution of the programme.

Resilient Pilot was born out of the Covid pandemic in May 2020 to support displaced pilots and aviation colleagues. The organisation has since evolved, gaining accreditation from The European Mentoring and Coaching Council (Gold Level) for International Standards of Mentoring and Coaching Programmes. The Resilience Development Programme offers virtual evidenced-based mentoring, coaching and competency development through scenario-based training simulation, delivered by competency-based training instructors and leading EBT software, Quantum. The programme brings together the experience and expertise of Resilient Pilot's aviation professionals, mentors, coaches, CRMTs CBTIs and TRI/Es to provide pilots with a pioneering, virtual experience that aims to enhance continuous development, self-evaluation skills, resilience and - ultimately - operational performance and safety.

“Our resilience model provides the basis for all our virtual learning and development activities with aviators,” said Resilient Pilot’s Founder and CEO, Stuart Beech. “It constantly assesses where they are and identifies countermeasures to help them develop their resilience. We have adapted our model to deliver the programme to aspiring Next Generation Aviation Professions. The total systems competency-based approach is designed to ensure continuous performance-based learning, engendering and embedding the concept of continuous marginal gains in personal and professional development as the industry gears up to introduce CBTA at all levels of the profession over the coming years.”

“Innovation propels aviation and for it to face up to tomorrow’s challenges it needs an open and diverse workforce that can bring fresh ideas and ways of working,” said Transport Secretary Mark Harper. “Our Reach for the Sky Challenge Fund recipients will be key to that, inspiring the next generation into the sector and helping to build an aviation workforce fit for the future.”