Aviation Operations on the Ground – Level 2

Required qualifications

4 GCSEs at grades 8- 3 including English or maths, or 5 GCSEs at grades 8 – 3 excluding English or maths, or level 1 qualification in a related subject.

Mature learners with other qualifications and/or experience are also welcomed. You should have a strong interest in working in the travel and tourism industry and demonstrate a commitment to succeed.

What skills will I develop?

Throughout the course, 5 units will be completed covering all of the different and crucial elements of working as a member of the airport ground crew in the Aviation sector.

Some of the topics that will be covered on this course will include:

• Health and safety within aviation
• Aviation security
• Aviation communications
• Airport check-in services
• Aircraft boarding and arrival services

During the course, students will also participate in various role-play scenarios where they will learn what it takes to deliver the appropriate level of service.

As well as this, students will be given the opportunity to visit an airport (such as Birmingham, Manchester or East Midlands) during their time on the course.

Careers

On completion of the level 2 course the natural progression will be to either seek employment as ground staff employed by companies such as Swissport or Menzies or to our level 3 programme, where you will be able to develop your knowledge and skills further and boost your opportunities for an exciting career in the travel industry.

Tourism is one of the most economically important industrial activities in the world. More than a billion people take an international tourist trip every year and this number is increasing year on year. Tourism accounts for nearly 10% of global GDP and one in every 11 jobs.

The industry is fast paced and has a wide range of job opportunities available including.

• Travel Agent
• Holiday rep
• Air Cabin Crew
• Airport ground staff
• Cruise consultant
• Tour guide
• Tourist Information Centre staff
• Customer service agent
• Business travel Agent
• Working for a tour operator
• Airport security staff
• Airport management team

Salaries in the industry can be varied and you may find that to begin with it may not be as competitive as other sectors. The industry is fun and exciting and never are two days the same You will need to be prepared to work unsociable hours, but also be prepared to create unforgettable memories. What other job could see you sitting on a beach in the Mediterranean on a bleak Monday morning? Or flying passengers to New York where you can stay and enjoy this wonderful city?

There are always opportunities to climb the ladder and progress to higher levels within the all the different components of the travel and tourism sector. For example, you may start as cabin crew for a short haul airline and progress to long haul. You then may wish to work in business travel using the experience you have gained and then progress to management. The opportunities are endless.

Work experience

Work experience is valuable part of this course and will give you the skills, knowledge and importantly the experience for potential employment opportunities.

As the industry is very customer service focused you will need to engage in work experience which will give you this experience e.g. hotel receptionist, theme park staff, waiting staff, customer service staff.

Work experience is crucial and will develop skills in communication, time management, dealing with a variety of customer situations and the ability to work individually and as part of a team.

English and maths

Throughout the course we will develop your maths and English and you won’t even know we are doing it. This could be enhancing your communication skills by working on your written course work or the delivery of an airport check-in or delivery of airport passenger announcements. You could be calculating a flight duration and arrival times using time zones or working out the cost of a trip for a customer in Euros or Dollars.

English and maths qualifications are an integral part of the working world and will help you prosper. If you don’t have English or maths qualification at grade 4 (grade C) then the college is here to help and additional classes will form part of your timetable to support this.

Other important information

To bring the course to life and to provide you with an enhanced learning experience we will run trips and visit throughout the year in this country and overseas. Some of the trips will be mandatory as they will form a part of essential information needed to complete certain work.

We also require learners to wear uniform for cabin crew and aviation lessons. Black/navy skirt or trousers along with a white shirt, blouse, or smart t shirt. A scarf or tie to complement this uniform will need to be purchased from the college at a cost of around £18.00.

We ask for all learners to come prepared to learn and will provide them with a list of stationary to do this: A4 pad, Pencil case including pens, pencils, or felt tips, rubber, glue stick and ruler.