“Over the next five years, Cebu Pacific will be investing $25 million for the Cadet Pilot Program,” he said in a press conference in Pasay City.
Cebu Pacific said that they will be sending out 240 cadets for training at the Flight Training Adelaide campus in Adelaide, Australia. They will send three batches of aspirants to Australia each year, with 16 cadet-pilots per batch.
Applicants will first be screened online, followed by on-site screening for aptitude tests and core skills.
The 56-week program includes flight theory, integrated flying training, and education course for an aspiring pilot to become a licensed commercial pilot. The first 52 weeks will be in a state-of-the-art academy in Australia.
The cadet-pilots will also train on a flight simulator, and then flight time on an actual aircraft. The last four weeks will be in the Philippines and the cadet pilots will obtain a pilot’s license from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP.)
The chosen, successful ones shall become ‘first officers’ at Cebu Pacific, flying on both international and domestic routes.
“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 added.
The training program will start early in 2018, with the final list of the first batch to be completed in December 2017. Hurry!
