In your mind, what makes a fantastic flight instructor? For me, a fantastic instructor is someone who always approaches students with encouragement, enthusiasm, and respect. My name is Captain Jaykumar Jacob Henry, but I was known and recognized as Captain Jay during my airline days. I am incredibly passionate about what I do and have over 30 years of flying and instructional experience. I now lead standardization governance for CAE Asia Pacific centres, and I am an expert in the Instructor Development Course.
In my early days, I always wondered if someday, technology would play an essential part in pilot training. And today, we are here: technology has become the key driver in this industry.
I became part of the CAE family about two years ago. Since then, I have been involved in a series of innovations and changes focused on improving training methods and standardization. These innovations are in-line with CAE’s training philosophy to define worldwide standards by creating a complete pilot ecosystem that enhances safety, efficiency and readiness. During my journey within the organization, I have contributed to turning around one of our regional training centres in the Philippines by implementing global CAE standards, and removing cultural barriers. One major challenge I faced was ensuring that all training materials and Standard Operating Procedures were up-to-date, and I’ve replaced conventional training methods and aids with newer tools for both instructors and pilots.
With the current COVID-19 pandemic, there is a paradigm shift in our way of delivering training. As a Subject Matter Expert in Crew Resource Management, I am currently using live online/remote learning methods to deliver an Instructor Development Course to instructors based in other countries/continents from the comfort of their own home. This allows live interaction, similar to an in-class setting and gives me a sense of fulfillment during this difficult time. This is evidence that teaching methods are transforming over time and that we must be open to new ways of facilitating.
The pilot-instructor relationship is also continually evolving. A more personal touch is added to teaching and training delivery. In the past, instructors were “in command “, whereas now, teaching is becoming a two-way interaction, where pilots can learn in a more autonomous environment by using different learning approaches. Previous training delivery methods put a lof of emphasis on instruction, whereas the current teaching methods allow trainees to discover and lead their learning process. And we need to adapt to each individual’s needs. For example, the younger generation prefers quick information access and short message delivery techniques.
CAE sees technology as an advanced tool to bring the training environment to the next level, and as CAE instructors, we are geared towards delivering our best to the pilot community while embracing innovation. A prominent example would be our assessment and analytical tool - CAE Rise, which is a revolutionary path building block towards digitalization of the entire training data library.
I am excited to witness even more technology innovation by CAE in the coming years!
