Selkirk College Avation Program ends

[Turbolag]

From 1968 until 2014.

One hell of a good College Aviation Program has met its end. A sad day for some of us. How many grads are out there?


Selair Alumni member 1997

[DonutHole]

I cut my teeth as a green ame at selkirk. Top shelf organization. Talking to people it isn't gone forever just needs to be tweaked to adjust for the small numbers of applicants. It is the flagship program at the school and it still has a lot of support from the community and faculty.

[iflyforpie]

Just so it doesn't fall under the 'rumour mill'....

http://selkirk.ca/program/aviation

While I am not a big supporter of 'college' programs... they had one hell of one there. I was always impressed with their pilots, and the fact that they concentrated on having high time instructors with real world experience... ...and remunerated accordingly... rather than just an assembly line of pilots who trained with them, taught with them, and moved on. If my kids were going to follow me into aviation... that's where I would have sent them.

[DonutHole]

It's sad that two of the best training centre's are gone. Southern skies was where I learned to twiddle knobs and push sticks and selkirk was my first real job in aviation.

The website linked doesn't say it's a permanent closure. You just can't run that program with an intake of five people.

[Turbolag]

http://boundarysentinel.com/news/its-of ... 9FGJFb0-BI

http://www.castlegarnews.com/news/268282412.html


Here is the latest.

[cdnpilot77]

they concentrated on having high time instructors with real world experience... ...and remunerated accordingly...

There's the s@&t end of the stick. Everyone wants something for cheaper, the walmart effect. I suspect people didn't see "value" in the experienced instructors and merely saw dollar signs and they weren't able to offer the cheapest product. We see it all the time on these forums asking where the cheapest place is to get a license done. What a shame, I have heard a lot of positive things regarding that school.

[dazednconfused]

There's the s@&t end of the stick. Everyone wants something for cheaper, the walmart effect. I suspect people didn't see "value" in the experienced instructors and merely saw dollar signs and they weren't able to offer the cheapest product. We see it all the time on these forums asking where the cheapest place is to get a license done.

Maybe that is a result of the industry though? Cost of living, plus flight training, and the prospects of little money (god help you if you have student loans) for years after your license make it necessary to save where you can. I don't think too many students have excess funds to spend upfront on training.

Is this a trend with very few CPL students entering the market now? Lots of motivated and excited PPL students, but few go on to the CPL in the end. At my local FTU, there are very few CPL students finishing. And the ones I do see, I'd say only half are pursuing a commercial pilot career. The others are typically older and upgrading skills. Even then, I've seen instructors drop out of the market and pursue entirely different careers.

[Invertago]

College management didn't want the program and sought to close it down. There were more students signed up for the next year but they were turned away. It is hard to fix an enrollment issue when management turns people away and wants to close the program.

[currysonic]

I heard from my friends at BCIT that the Selkirk students that didn't finish their training were able to transfer to BCIT and finish. So, some good news out of this. I'm glad to hear the students weren't abandoned.

[AirSprint HR]

I heard from my friends at BCIT that the Selkirk students that didn't finish their training were able to transfer to BCIT and finish. So, some good news out of this. I'm glad to hear the students weren't abandoned.

As of last week, the BCIT option was not viable and the Selkirk Board voted to finish the unfinished student at Selkirk. It is good news.

Thanks,

AirSprint HR

[goaroundthrust]

a sign of the looming pilot shortage to come . Nobody training for an entry level job that pays crap anymore .

in a few years people that trained now will be in hot demand ......

[iflyforpie]

a sign of the looming pilot shortage to come . Nobody training for an entry level job that pays crap anymore .

in a few years people that trained now will be in hot demand ......

Not likely.

You might see better placement, advancement, and compensation for the lower numbers of CPLs that go thorough the system.

But globalization and deregulation still rule. Those guys with huge salaries and pensions at the legacy carriers will be allowed to leave, while the smaller number of new pilots will be working harder for B and C scale wages.... ...... and most of the domestic routes will be farmed out to 'regional' carriers in order for them to cut costs so the mainline carriers can fight for the freedom of the skies against international carriers who don't have the taxation, regulations, and staffing costs that our carriers do.

Yeah, there's a pilot shortage alright..... if you are in Mumbai or Beijng....

[esp803]

I was very displeased reading the letter that a very active alumni sent Most(?) of the other alumni, displeased with the college and its board. The amount of work that certain individuals put into the program in an effort to improve the outlook for employment of graduates was simply amazing. If you're reading this, I think you should post that email here for the masses to read (If you don't want to post it under your screen name, and don't mind it being posted, send me a PM and I'll throw it up here for you). It saddens me that this program won't continue and the seeming lack of effort put forward by the college board towards the continuation of one of the best (slightly biased) flight college programs in the country.

E - 08'

[AirSprint HR]

As requested.

--

Hi All,

As many of you have likely heard, earlier this week the Selkirk College Board of Governors voted to cancel the aviation program based on the recommendation of the administration. There have been a few articles written about the cancellation, but only one accurately depicts the events that took place (http://www.castlegarnews.com/news/268282412.html). As alumni, I think it is important that you know the entire story that led to the cancellation earlier this week. I’ll do my best to keep it short.

Following the below email that was sent in September, we were able to organize about 30 alumni who generously volunteered their time to promote Selkirk College at high schools and career events across the country. In October, Mike Lowther (’75) and I flew to Castlegar to meet with the administration (President/VP/Dean) and offer our services in reviewing the program and coming up with solutions. We left the meeting with the impression that we would be able to start this process within 4-6 weeks. This meeting was delayed until late January and shortly before the meeting was to take place the College announced that it would not be taking first year students in order to conduct a program renewal. At the meeting, Mike, Steve Richards (’78), and I, were briefed on the financial issues resulting from the low enrolment and it became apparent that the administration felt that the curriculum was at fault. We did not agree with this assessment and offered an alternative assessment of the issues, along with potential solutions. In short, the changes needed to ensure a sustainable program were not that significant.

Following the meeting, Steve and I were informed that the usual program advisory committee meeting held in May would be replaced with a curriculum review meeting hosted by a consultant. The industry members of the advisory committee generally came to the same conclusion that the curriculum was not at fault. It should be noted that in the short time that the alumni volunteers were out speaking to prospective students, they were able to attract a number of applicants, who I have been told were of higher quality than in previous years. Also, Steve and I repeatedly offered our assistance but did not receive any response from the administration.

In late June, Steve and I found out that the administration was going to recommend cancelling the aviation program at a Board meeting that was going to be held within the week. Steve was able to get an invite to the Board meeting and he presented a document that I prepared stating our assessment of the reasons for the departments issues as well as the following request:

The alumni request that they be given the opportunity to present the Board of Governors with a strategic plan for re‐launching the aviation program for the 2016-17 educational year. This strategic plan will present a solution to the current enrolment and financial difficulties, an evolution of the curriculum, industry involvement, as well as increased oversight through a volunteer Board of Advisors who will work with department leadership and report to the college administration on potential problems in order to quickly develop and implement solutions. The alumni could have this strategic plan ready in ninety days.

Steve did an excellent job in front of the Board and they deferred their decision to cancel the program until the administration could address the points brought forward by Steve and listed in the document. We were again not contacted by the administration to take us up on our offer but Steve took it upon himself to achieve some of the industry strategic goals that the administration indicated would be required for the program to be viable. When Steve shared these accomplishments with the administration, their response was neutral.

Finally, late last week we found out that there would be a Board meeting on July 22nd. This time, in addition to recommending that the aviation program be cancelled, we got word that the 3 first years would not be able to complete their education at Selkirk College. Steve and I were able to get an invite to the Board meeting and a few other stakeholders, including a first year student, joined us. The 5-10 minutes of time made available to us at the meeting turned into 2 hours and we had our opportunity to state our case for keeping the program open while we develop a plan for returning the program to sustainability. The motion that was voted on was basically “To cancel the aviation program, while completing the education of the first year students, if practical. If a plan to re-introduce aviation to the college is presented, it shall be brought to the Board for review.” I expressed my concern with the “if practical” condition in the motion, however, the administration seemed to be content with training the first year students (they did not have any alternative) and the motion made by one of the Board members to remove it was denied. The vote came in 4-4 and the Chairman broke the tie by siding with the recommendation from the administration to close the program. I was asked by the Board if I would still be willing to develop a plan for creating a sustainable aviation program and told them that I would be in Castlegar to work with them if I was asked to do so.

The message following the Board meeting is that the administration will be busy going through the actions required to cancel the program in the short term and after that they will consider whether aviation is possible in the future. My take is that there is no desire by the administration to have aviation continue. I will remain hopeful and willing to help if the opportunity arises.

I would like to thank Steve and Mike, as well as all the alumni who volunteered their time to help keep the aviation program alive. If you would like to know any more about what took place (this email just gives the highlights) feel free to give me a call.

All the best and fly safe!

James Elian (’00)

[goaroundthrust]

""and most of the domestic routes will be farmed out to 'regional' carriers ""

and who will fly the airplanes when nobody is training anymore ?
i heard transport issued 400 licenses last year in total .

can anybody confirm this ?