S7 Technics Training Center: 10 Successful Years in Aviation

During this time, more than 20,000 engineering and technical specialists have studied the structure of modern aircraft, comprehended the intricacies of its work, learned aviation technical English and are confidently working in the field of aircraft maintenance and repair. Let’s fast forward a decade and find out how it all began.

Inception
In 2006, the company “S 7 ENGINEERING” was formed, which performed maintenance and repair of aircraft.
Already in the next year, the management made a decision to create an aviation training center (ATC).
The main prerequisites for the formation of their own training center was the beginning of the use by Russian airlines of foreign types of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. To organize the maintenance of airworthiness of aircraft, qualified personnel are needed, which must be trained for new types and modifications of aircraft. This role was taken over by the S7 Technics training center at that time.

In 2009, the ATC became an independent training unit, which was approved by EASA Part-147 – the European standard for ensuring the quality of the educational process. Two years later, after registering as an Autonomous Non-Commercial Educational Organization, a license for educational activities was obtained from the Ministry of Education and Science. The team of the training center then consisted of 5 people, and the first training programs were held on the A320 Family (CFM-56) and Boeing 737-300 / 400/500 aircraft.

Learning approach
The audience of the S7 Technics training center is engineering and technical specialists with basic education who want to improve their professional level or undergo retraining for other types of aircraft. This allows us to quickly develop our own personnel, since 94% of the students are engineers and aircraft technicians of S7 Technics, the remaining 6% are representatives of other technical services of Russian airlines and MRO providers.

Since 2013, ATC has been using certified software Airbus Competence Training, which was acquired from Airbus, in training engineering and technical personnel.
The training program is installed on a special aviation simulator, which is a computer class with 18 workstations. ATC specialists regularly receive software updates and consulting support from the manufacturer.
The aircraft simulator enables students to perform complex, hands-on troubleshooting tasks on the Airbus A320neo family aircraft.

“One of the innovations of the Airbus Competence Training that we have installed is the expansion of virtual capabilities to create conditions that aviation industry technicians may encounter, for example, on the apron. In the classroom, we study situations in which an aircraft cannot take off due to a defect (AOG – aircraft-on-ground). This allows you to reduce the time for troubleshooting and eliminating defects in real conditions. According to our estimates, the use of computer technologies in teaching improves the assimilation of the material by 30%, ”said Igor Ivanovskiy, director of the S7 Technics Aviation Training Center.

Course participants perform all exercises at workstations right in the classroom. The tasks issued by certified instructors of the S7 Technics ATC suggest a comprehensive analysis and troubleshooting of the Airbus A320 family aircraft, allowing you to hone the skills and logic of performing maintenance while taking into account safety measures during the simulation of hazardous situations.

The present
Today S7 Technics Aviation Training Center is one of the leading training centers for technical specialists in the aviation industry, which includes a team of 23 people: trained instructors and training managers who use a modern approach to training.

ATC specialists provide training on ratings from B1.1, B2 to C, as well as for different types of aircraft: A320neo Family (all types of engines), Boeing 737, Boeing-757 (all types of engines), Boeing-767.

S7 Technics ATC instructors were the first in Russia to start training aircraft technicians to work with the Embraer 170 and A320neo, Boeing 737 MAX. The training center offers additional training in Human Factors, Aviation Legislation, Fuel Tank Safety and EWIS.

In addition to the main educational site at Domodedovo, training takes place at the S7 Technics bases in Novosibirsk and Mineralnye Vody, or on the territory of the company for whose employees training is required.

In 2019, more than 4,000 technical specialists who work in the Russian aviation industry were trained at the S7 Technics training center.

Working during a pandemic
Unfortunately, the situation with the global coronavirus pandemic also affects the activities of educational organizations that have already mastered remote learning formats, because the practice of distance education has already proved its effectiveness and is successfully used in many countries.

During the first week of self-isolation, the employees of the S7 Technics training center restructured the course of teaching aviation technical English to conduct classes remotely. The transition to the online format was not easy given the tight deadlines and structure of the course. Although this approach differs from the usual face-to-face communication with students, it was nevertheless managed to be organized without losing the quality of education.

Online classes may be unusual for some listeners as it requires a high level of motivation and self-discipline. The advantage of this format is to increase the involvement of listeners who are more willing to participate in discussions and share their experiences.

Plans for the future
Like any successfully developing company, S7 Technics training center makes plans for the future, taking into account its own experience and the main trends in the industry.

“There are actually a lot of plans! We will continue to equip ATCs with modern programs and simulators for engineering and technical specialists training. In the near future, we plan to maximize the development of distance learning for different types of aircraft. We also plan to expand our educational line with programs for the A320 type with LEAP-1A engines by the end of this year, and we are also preparing for the approval of the training program for the ERJ-170 \ 190 by 2021, ” Igor Ivanovsky shared his plans.

In addition to educational programs for specific types of aircraft, the ATC also plans to expand partnerships with leading aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing.

It should be noted that there are several certified aviation training centers in Russia, which play a significant role in the development of the entire industry. The issue of qualified personnel is more important than ever, because professionals in their field are always in demand.

We wish the staff of the S7 Technics training center confident development, success and new victories!