Tadesse: Aviation Training Will Boost Manpower Development 

President of Ethiopian Aviation University, Laeke Tadesse, in this interview, speaks about one of Africa’s most accredited aviation institutions, and the need to train more technical personnel to match global demand for manpower development. Chinedu Eze brings the excerpts:

What is the history of the university and the retraining of personnel for Ethiopian Airlines?

The Ethiopian Aviation University goes back all the way to 1956. It is almost 59 years going to 60. It started by training the required workforce for the airline, primarily training pilots,  aircraft maintenance technicians, cabin crew and  sales and marketing staff.  Gradually it continued to do so and later on, it  started to train  interested parties, third-party trainings, but it was established ab initio as an in-house training academy. 

How many international organisations and countries have accredited the university so far?

The big institutions like FAA, EASA, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation), IATA International Air Transport Association). We have accreditation in the different programmes and the different civil aviation authorities in Africa whenever they want to send their trainees, they first come, evaluate and give accreditation. So, I could say almost all over Africa, we have the regional or the nationwide CAA accreditation.  In West Africa, the ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil) and other entities have approved the University. East Africa, the respective countries, CAAs (Civil Aviation Authorities), have also accredited the University. So, I would say pretty much we are covered in that space. 

What’s the duration for the training of aircraft engineers and the entry level qualification?

Meeting the entry requirement, if it is the full maintenance technician training, it is 18 months.  But we also provide modular training courses if one wants to be an avionics specific technician, there is a modular training offer for that or plant only or airframe only. But in general, the complete package will reach up to 18 months.

Do you train students on flight scheduling and operations control?

Yes, we do have ad hoc trainings for any of the business functions.  If you take the flight scheduling, the scheduling team; whenever they have new recruits, we provide that training in-house.  And whenever there is also a demand from the market, we set up these trainings.  We do not currently have established, say, regularized training in terms of that, but on demand, we provide the training and we have done so to so many African carriers for their internal scheduling team. When it comes to the operational control, similar approaches follow.

We have a regular program with a basic taking close to four months and we also provide recurrent ones to refresh existing dispatchers. So, in terms of operations control, we do have a regular class for anyone interested two or three times a year and the other in- flight scheduling that is arranged on demand. 

Currently how many students are in your school and which countries are they from?

Well, the size of students may differ throughout the year. Let’s say if you take the cabin crew, since they graduate frequently, the number may change. But at the moment, close to 1,800 students are involved in different programmes. They come from different African countries like Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Zambia, Namibia, Tanzania and so on.  It depends on the timing but the current figure is in this range. 

In Cabin Crew Training, do you type rate the students if they so choose?

 Yes, we do provide both the initial training as well as a specific aircraft type training. We can do the rating on the Boeing B737, B767, B787 and the Airbus C-50 and the Q400 models of aircraft.

If you have jobs available, do you link your students to such jobs?

Definitely. One of the things we do is linking our graduates with the market.  Some of them, of course, will end up working for us. Some will work for our equity partner airlines and some will also work for those airlines that have sent them here for the training.  But if someone is trained privately, we also point him to the market, since they are already accredited and licensed when they graduate. And as you know, aviation is growing and the need for trained workforce is there. They quickly get placed in the areas they are trained. 

Can you conduct special package training for most of the courses for a group different from the ongoing programmes?

Yes, we do.  Of course, procedurally, the location where we conduct the training matters.  Because currently our training organization is approved by the accreditation organizations we have mentioned earlier. So, this location is the one that is currently approved.  But if an entity wants that package for training, we go through a process, whereby we get that location be certified by the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority. Because ultimately the license we give is from our CAA which will be endorsed by the respectively where the client wants to operate.  That’s how the licensing works.

So that can be arranged.  We do offer, like if you take the flying option, the private pilot license is offered. Commercial pilot license is also offered. So that can be done here at our base.  Or if the preference is to do on site at the client’s location, that can also be arranged where once the facilities are approved, our certified instructors go there and provide the training on site. So that model is also available. 

In simulator training, what are the aircraft types available?

Almost the fleet we operate currently is covered in that. That would be starting from the Q400 (Bombardier Dash 8), the Boeing 737 was the older version and the new one, the new generation. Boeing 777, 787 are covered. And from the Airbus fleet, Airbus 350 is covered.

What is your average annual turnover of students?

Yeah, at the moment, it is between 2,500 to 3,000 maximum capacity. We are also in the process of increasing that capacity by adding more classrooms, more dormitory facilities and we are also getting additional training aircraft, simulators and so on. The plan is to double this capacity in the next five years. So currently it ranges between 2,500 to 3,000. 

There has been a kind of a strong relationship between Ethiopia Airlines, Ethiopian School, aviation institution and Nigeria. What kind of relationship do you have with Nigeria in terms of aviation development?

Well, Ethiopian operates multiple flights daily into Nigeria, providing passenger and cargo connectivity.  In addition to that, at different times we have trained many Nigerian nationals at our facility as pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians and so on. We also currently have them in these courses and also in the undergraduate programs in the aerospace engineering area. They are being trained as aircraft maintenance engineers and aeronautical engineers.  So, we have that relationship and we still enrol so many Nigerians in our school.  Of course, from time to time, the parent, the Ethiopian Airlines Group, reviews the demand in the Nigerian market and its capacity and frequency as desired. So, I would say there is a cooperation between the two nations in terms of aviation. And particularly in the training area, we are very proud of providing this service to many Nigerians. 

If Nigeria wishes to further its manpower development, what should be done?

That is really an interesting question. Well, one important aspect we all need to understand is that aviation is a very regulated capital-intensive industry. So, collaboration is key where we leverage resources and experiences and try to form a long-term plan whereby all those best practices are imported and institutionalized.  The key strength of our institution is its historical accumulated knowledge based experience. We have been in this business as an airline for almost eighty years now. We will be celebrating it in April 2026 and the training facility has also been in existence for almost 60 years. You know, when you run institutions for that long, there is a huge accumulated knowledge where we use to help assist and collaborate with our partners in different forms they need.

We directly provide the training for their trainees or we assist in helping them set up these facilities at their institutions. So, the collaboration is broad and our advice is always to look at these engagements in a collaborative manner where they are faced, where there should be a phased approach, where you start, for example, from entry level training that may not require that much infrastructure upfront. Then you build on that and move to those highly skilled and more regulated areas of the training.  So, my advice to those wanting to enter this area, in general, we feel that more needs to be done across Africa to fill the gap.  Because there is a huge demand in terms of trained aviation professionals and there is still a gap in terms of fulfilling that demand.  

The industry believes you are the greatest in Africa. What are the sequences of your success over the years?

Success is built, of course, upwards, starting from smaller size classrooms. We do have multi-story buildings dedicated for each school, producing close to 3000 professionals per annum. I would say so far, we have trained close to 20,000 trainees from this school.  We do have pretty much more than 50 plus countries in Africa trained at our facilities. If you take the global presence, it would be 60 plus. So, there is also a huge recurrent training requirement as you know, in aviation you need to update your licenses regularly and we have recorded above 250,000 since our establishment. So, all this is being done with rigorous planning, anticipating the growth, upgrading our facility in time to capture the forecast and, of course, the support from the group, has always been there. And I would say this has helped a lot in ensuring that this institution continues to shine and produce certified innovation professionals. 

What is the procedure you follow to offer training to third party candidates and do you offer third party training on your Airbus A350 simulator currently?

Well, any training requirement has to come to our institution. But, of course, the prerequisites and everything will be there. As you mentioned, if a pilot wants to type rate on a specific aircraft, the prior requirement of having completed the necessary hours to be certified on that aircraft type needs to be there.  Then the commercial arrangement will be finalized.  Slots will be assigned and he gets the time on the simulator with certified instructor pilots. Because you need to also have your pilots certified as instructors to teach on the simulators. Once all that is done and he completes that successfully, the Ethiopian CAA will review the training records and give approval. The licence will be endorsed by the country the pilot is going to operate in.