Skypath soars to the skies with British system

By David Odongo

That Kenya’s aviation sector is in dire need of trained aviators is no secret.

This has been exacerbated by failure by most Kenyan universities to offer aviation-related courses leaving the industry to grapple with shortage of qualified personnel despite efforts to train personnel outside the country.

Martin Aloyo the Regional Development Manager for Edexcel confirms Skypath is indeed the only college in Africa offering Edexcel’s BTEC qualifications in aviation.

Julius Asiro, a trained pilot and engineer, took the bold step filling the void when he started the college, in 2000.

The institution, located at Wilson Airport, offers courses such as aerospace engineering, airline operations, flight and operations dispatch, crew resource management, dangerous goods regulations and cabin crew.

"Few people have the capacity to relay information and knowledge despite having years of experience. Since I had five years teaching experience and had mastered many areas of aviation through experience and various short courses, I decide to pass this knowledge to others," he recalls.

Goodwill of interns

Before setting up the college, Asiro worked as an engineer at the Wilson Airport for Wings Safaris specialising in rebuilding aircrafts.

It is while working there that two interns noted his excellent teaching abilities, and persuaded him to start a college.

With the support and motivation of his former employer and the goodwill of the two interns, Asiro started the college that has to date successfully trained hundreds of aviation personnel.

"We offer quality learning. My initial approach was not commercial. We do not target the masses. We want to offer the best services and ensure quality. Our graduates have been employed by airlines across the region," he adds.

Though increasing competition has been a challenge with the latter introducing lower rates and compromising on quality, Skypath has managed to overcome this by adopting innovative approaches to teaching.

"We now offer Edexcel’s BTEC qualifications, from the UK. Under this system students have excellent progression avenues to more than 100 higher learning institutions around the world, through transfer of credits."

These qualifications being work related, allow progression to other sectors should a student decide to do this.

Edexcel has welcomed the partnership with Skypath and the students at the centre, Asiro says, are very excited with the BTEC style of teaching. BTEC has been around for more than 25 years and is a brand unique to Edexcel, a Pearson Company.

Many firsts

BTEC’s greatest strength comes from the fact that Edexcel works with industry players to develop qualifications that meet current industry requirements.

The college added another feather to its cap when its students became first Kenyans to graduate with a BTEC higher national diploma in Aerospace Studies from Edexcel. Mohammed Qureshi, Milan Shah, Kumkum Abid, Suleiman Kinyanjui and Moulesh Patel are no regular aviators as they have successfully pioneered this uncharted Skypath qualification.

BTEC give students the skills they need to either move on in higher education or go straight into employment.

For instance, a BTEC higher national diploma in Business would cover all aspects of business including marketing, law, human resources and accounting. Similarly, a BTEC in aerospace studies covers all the aspects of aeronautical engineering.

"BTEC provide a practical, real-world approach to learning without sacrificing any of the essential subject theory," says Asiro.

Students under the BTEC system have to undertake a number of units for which they present evidence, do research, and apply real-life work skills and studies. This allows them to fit in very well and very quickly in any work environment.

While some students thrive on the pressure of exams, others become totally disoriented under such pressure due to worries or nerves. With a BTEC, progress is measured throughout the course, allowing students to gauge their own performance on a continuous basis.

As a result, students get rewarded for their own hard work and are therefore more engaged and motivated because they can see their own progress and growth.

Due to the interesting blend of qualifications at Skypath, we have continued to produce polished and well-refined aviators mostly from our engineering courses," he says.

Teaching crisis

The other advantage with BTEC qualification is that it helps to keep students options wide open. There are many options available to school-leavers at the moment.

They can either join degree qualifications of take up vocational qualifications and then top up with a degree.

Students enrolled at the college include both fresh high school leavers as well as experienced aviation personnel who are keen to pursue advanced specialist courses in aviation.

The lack of experienced aviation lecturers has also been a challenge but Edexcel gives frequent training of lecturers throughout the year, and this has helped in our delivery to students, adds Asiro.

In the future Asiro plans to partner with a university to offer a top-up degree in aviation and related studies.