For Anca Gosling, Aeroclass is ready for change in the world of aviation training

For Anca Gosling, the post-Covid-19 world of aviation learning has fundamentally changed and Aeroclass.org has a major role to play in that change. Her first encounter with the aviation industry arrived by chance.

While studying for her Master’s Degree in International Affairs at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva (IHEID), Anca first learned to appreciate the intricacies and challenges which the aviation industry presented.

It was this spark of interest that in 2010 saw Anca begin a new role coordinating classroom training courses with the International Air Transport Association (IATA). In her role as Senior Lead, Aviation Management, Law & Sustainability Training, Anca realised the capacity of the aviation industry to attract the brightest, most highly-skilled, and motivated professionals from right around the world. One of the most impactful insights was the fact that these professionals would readily travel anywhere globally to gain new knowledge and make new connections.

Over the years, the aviation industry has faced many crises; the oil crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s; the events of 9/11, and most recently the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

However, a factor that Anca has become widely familiar with is that all aviation professionals, and the aviation industry in general, come with a resilience rarely experienced in other industries. Plus, she was quick to realise that crises in the industry are rarely a setback, and can even act as accelerators for change and innovation, including the whole process of aviation training.

As Director of Content and Development at Aeroclass Anca’s mission is to create and implement a strategy for the platform’s suite of courses and training modules. Part of that strategy is knowing exactly what the industry employees need to grow and develop their company’s stature in the marketplace.

For Anca, and Aeroclass, this knowledge, along with existing and new technologies, are the keys to creating future-proof training, using augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), gamification, and other new developments, including on-demand training anytime in any location.

In her role, Anca saw the COVID-19 pandemic as another hurdle to be overcome by the industry, and most especially how aviation professionals are trained during such crises. According to her, “… the most unexpected challenge was the sudden change of the training delivery method. Typically, aviation training is a highly regulated environment where face-to-face classroom delivery of information was the norm. However, the crisis forced the industry to adapt and convert most of the content to virtual/online delivery. Being able to give back and make a difference for aviation professionals that are affected by crises is what motivated me to take on this exciting new role with Aeroclass.”

Challenges like this demand a response from those charged with leading the industry forward, and Anca was already primed and ready to meet this, and any new challenge head-on.

According to her, Aeroclass is unique in its approach to the use of advanced technologies in its training strategy. This approach leaves Aeroclass as being unequalled in the area of aviation training for professionals by creating affordable, and most importantly, engaging training programmes that are easy to access anywhere and at any time.

The beauty of such an ‘anywhere/any time’ system, according to Anca, is that these new technologies provide the best user experience for aviation professionals to help them transition a crisis successfully.

With her vast experience in aviation training, Anca believes that Aeroclass will fill the missing gaps in the sector through content that aviation professionals can access from anywhere at a time that suits them best. This concept is a complete reimagining of training delivery tools and methodology for the entire aviation industry.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, aviation training has been badly affected. According to the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) jobs in, and supporting the greater aviation industry stood a potential loss of 46 million jobs – a reduction of 52.5%. While direct aviation jobs – airlines, airports, manufacturers, and air traffic management – were estimated to fall by 4.8 million (a 43% reduction compared with the pre-Covid situation.

Because classroom training was one of the first areas to be hit by the crisis – face-to-face learning was no longer viable, and resources were severely limited – the whole concept of aviation training delivery methods had to be completely reimagined. Aeroclass was quick to understand that online training is no longer just an option, but is a strict necessity if the industry is to get through this unprecedented crisis and any future crises that may arise. They also understood that the crisis placed an urgency on the need to diversify the entire platform for the global aviation industry.

According to Anca, “Even if there is are some regional differences, mainly due to local civil aviation authorities’ regulations, the overarching content which Aeroclass can provide can be tailored to suit individual needs.”

Regarding the training content, Anca adds, “Aeroclass curriculum of courses aims to meet the learning needs of the ASG group companies and the wider aviation community by offering both technical and management courses.”

Many aviation professionals have suffered badly throughout the pandemic due to a lack of training opportunities. However, Aeroclass has broken the mould of aviation training regardless of what new crisis may be waiting down the track. Plus, with their unique flexible training strategy of ‘anytime anywhere’, aviation professionals have been given a free rein regarding where they learn, when they learn, and how they learn in a post-pandemic world.