Welcome to the 14th Issue of
Entry Point North's Newsletter!

Please find the latest news and graduations at Entry Point North!

Students from Austro Control are Trained at Entry Point North

On May 22nd this year, Entry Point North was pleased to welcome 10 Austro Control students who started ATC Rating training with COOPANS functionalities. Prior the ACS rating training at Entry Point North, the students had already completed Basic ATC course plus different types of related training in Austria. This tailor-made training will help to make the transfer from simulation to On-the-Job Training easier and faster for the students.

At Entry Point North the ACS simulator training with a number of COOPANS functionalities is being delivered in close cooperation with Naviair and local instructors from Austro Control to ensure that the required training objectives are achieved. All the course instructors have extensive knowledge and operational experience on the COOPANS system. As well as using the COOPANS functionalities during rating training at Entry Point North, the students will also receive live demonstrations and hands-on training using the latest COOPANS HMI (Human-Machine Interface).

Austrian students performing the COOPANS training at Naviair

"The Austrian group has been trained for several weeks in Sweden and coped with an intensive training schedule extremely well", says client manager Bjarne Alster, who has been thoroughly following the students during the whole course.

Avinor Performs Tower Control Continuation Training

Being an operational Air Traffic Controller it also means obligations to stay up to date regarding new developments and regulations within their area of duty and refresh the skills that might not be used every day at work. A continuous personnel training enables the ANSP to ensure up-to-date safe operating practices. 

The continuation training (in Norwegian named as PFO) for most of Avinor’s Tower controllers is now performed on Entry Point North’s 360 degrees Tower simulators. The training is delivered using a replica of the respective airport layout, Tower equipment and traffic complexity. A few Tower units have already tested the concept during 2012 and in 2013-2014 19 Avinor operated ATC Towers will receive the continuation training at Entry Point North using our Tower simulators.

It is a tremendous task to produce all the airport layouts and exercises replicating local scenarios for the continuation training. Firstly a lot of data and photographs from each unit have to be collected, together with information about the local traffic scenarios to be used in relevant exercises. Then the airport layout and exercises have to be developed by Entry Point North’s simulator experts, reviewed and tested together with the operational ATCOs from the units.

The continuation training is very realistic - after just a few minutes in the simulator the controllers feel “like being at home” and are ready to train difficult operations, heavy traffic situations, new procedures - or whatever else is needed to train in this specific “Continuation Circle”. A recurrent round of continuation training for all 19 Tower units has already been agreed and will start immediately after the end of the first round, as it has proved to be very successful for Avinor and the ATCOs.

Besides all the airport layouts and exercises development, it is a puzzle to plan this high number of PFO training sessions. Simulation training has to be delivered to all ATCOs at each unit, local shift-schedules needs to be consulted as well as travel time and all other practicalities. The close cooperation and coordination between Entry Point North and each unit – sometimes even between the units – is an essential part of the project.

Having a produced airport layout with exercises provides a number of benefits. As well as continuation training, it also provides the opportunity to introduce an On-the-Job trainee (plus the local instructor) to the airport layout, procedures, traffic scenarios and different unit specialties in a stress-free way. Such an introduction enables the trainee to be better prepared when starting his/her real On-the-Job Training. In the long run this could also lead to shorter OJT time as well as helping to bridge the gap between initial training and unit training. This is a particular advantage for ANSP that operates several aerodromes.

The Continuous Competence Development Program

The Continuous Competence Development Program was established early 2013 as a further step in our ongoing work towards our mission of "high caliber staff" providing first class training. The purpose of the Program is to enhance the skills in each individual's area of expertise and the pedagogical methods of our teachers as an ongoing activity. Besides that, new generations that are now coming to ATM environment require adjusting the training and working culture.

In May as a part of Continuous Competence Development Program the mutual cooperation between Entry Point North and Kristianstad University was established. The Kristianstad University offers top quality programmes within education, health science and organisational science. The University teachers are giving lectures, coaching and support to the trainers from Entry Point North in their actual working environment - classroom. The aim of the cooperation is to increase teachers' awareness of how their own behavior affects the interaction with individuals and groups. These lectures are conducted throughout the year.

Entry Point North at International Events

ICAO TRAINAIR PLUS Regional Symposium

On 17-19 June ICAO hosted Next Generation of Aviation Professionals and TRAINAIR PLUS Regional Symposium in Istanbul, Turkey. It was a well visited symposium - it attracted more than 200 delegates. The objective of this symposium was to discuss how to ensure that enough qualified aviation professionals are available to operate, manage and maintain the future of the international air transport system. The industry is facing a challenge as a large contingent of the current generation of aviation professionals will retire, access to affordable training and education is increasingly problematic, and aviation competes with other industry sectors for attracting highly skilled professionals.

Entry Point North presented “Changes in the aviation environment and impacts on training: a moving target”. The presentation was aimed to be an eye opener to the training responsible on the way they are doing training today (yesterday) and how to address the needs of tomorrow.

IFATSEA 43rd Assembly

Entry Point North was also kindly invited to attend the 43rd Assembly of IFATSEA, The International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Associations, to give a presentation about ATSEP training. Entry Point North is a leading academy offering a complete training program for ATSEP. Besides many courses we offer ATSEP OSTI and Assessor training to give the necessary tools to instructors to train and coach the new ATSEP personnel that are joining technical organisations.

In the IFATSEA Assembly Entry Point North presented a viewpoint of future ATSEP training based on the current EASA document, which is still in hearing. The presentation included viewpoints on Assessor and OJTI training for ATSEPs, which is likely to become part of the future in the ATSEP environment. As an ATSEP training expert within aviation we are continuously participating in various ATSEP events and in April 2013 initiated annual ATSEP Training workshop for the professionals from all over the world.

Available courses in 2013-2014

In 2013-2014 Entry Point North is conducting a number of different professional courses for the industry. We aim to continuously meet the training needs of our existing clients and would like to welcome new clients too to these courses that are open to all working with aviation:

ATS and AFIS courses:

• ATS course: 3 Mar-2 May’14 (the first week is home-study)

• AFIS course:  4 Nov-6 Dec’13 and 5 May-13 Jun’14

ATC Development courses:

• On-the-Job Training Instructor (OJTI) course: 18-22 Nov’13 and 25-29 Nov’13

• On-the-Job Training Instructor Refresher (OJTI Ref) course: 6-7 Nov’13

• Assessor course: 23-25 Oct’13 and 13-15 Nov’13

ATSEP courses:

• Basic ATSEP course: 20-31 Jan’14

• ATSEP Assessor course: 11 Dec- 13 Dec’13

• ATSEP OSTI course: 2 Dec- 6 Dec’13

General course for non-ATCOs:

• A General Introduction to ATC: 10-11 Dec’13

Download the complete list of our training courses and services here.

The training is conducted by our highly professional skilled international instructors using modern training philosophy. All the courses and training material are delivered in English to professionals from all over the world. To book a seat, please contact us at sales@entrypointnorth.com.

Our staff are looking forward to welcoming you at our training academy!

International AFIS Seminar 2013

On the 4-5 September Entry Point North hosted the international AFIS Seminar for the fourth time. This year we had the honour of welcoming more than 50 participants from 13 different nations to this yearly event for the international AFIS community.

The 2013 seminar looked into AFIS status throughout the world with special emphasis on AFIS and AFISO Associations development in the UK, the remotely operated tower project in Norway and the development of available navigational equipment suited for small airports. A whole workshop session was dedicated to looking at the phraseology used within the AFIS community. Many interesting and active discussions took place. It was particularly interesting to learn that the phraseology used varies considerably; not just across international borders, but even within the same country. The seminar highlighted that AFIS within Europe is often provided in very different ways including information, advisory and controlling perspectives. There is a lack of regulation and harmonisation within the AFIS field.

Entry Point North is continuously playing a central role within the AFIS community. Last year we introduced a dedicated website for the AFIS and ATS community named www.meetingpointats.com. The purpose of this forum is to give an opportunity for AFIS and ATS communities to contact each other, which could be valuable when it comes to performing in their daily duties, whilst at the same time encourageing people to further develop and improve their operational best practices. At the moment we have almost 100 ATS/AFIS members throughout the world registered in this forum.

We would like to thank to all the participants for making this year’s AFIS Seminar a great success. We hope to see you on www.meetingpointats.com.

Here at Entry Point North we are already looking forward to the 5th anniversary AFIS Seminar in 2014!

Training Seminar, 4 June

In June, Entry Point North hosted the yearly professional seminar on training related matters. More than 50 participants representing 13 countries attended in Malmö. It was a great opportunity to exchange experience and opinions on different factors affecting the outcome of training, such as recruitment & selection, the instructor role and attitude and expectations of generation Y. The speakers of the seminar were Mats Trodman (PhD) from Linnaeus University, Entry Point North training experts and alumni student Gabriel Odenhammar.

We would like to thank to all training professionals who participated in this one-day seminar. We believe we provided you with some new thoughts and ideas to bring back home.

Entry Point North is looking forward to hosting a new seminar next year based on the input and ideas from the participants!

Graduated classes

Graduated classes from May until August 2013

ATC/ATS training

Back top top

In this issue:

 Students from Austro Control are Trained at Entry Point North

Avinor Performs Tower Control Continuation Training

The Continuous Competence Development Program

Entry Point North at International Events:

-ICAO Trainair Plus Regional Symposium

-IFATSEA 43rd Assembly

Available courses in 2013-2014

International AFIS Seminar

Training Seminar, 4 June

Graduated classes

What's up

REGISTER NOW FOR our Training Courses!

 See the complete list of our training courses and services here.

Instructor Info & Confirmation Forms

 Information regarding serving as a short-term Instructor on loan from your ANSP can be found here. 

For more info

 Please visit www.entrypointnorth.com  

Entry Point North AB
Nordic ATS Academy
Box 30
SE-230 32 Malmoe-Sturup
Sweden
Tel. +46 40 694 43 00
sales@entrypointnorth.com

ENTRY POINT NORTH IS ONE OF THE LARGEST AIR TRAFFIC SERVICES ACADEMIES IN EUROPE. It is the first transnational academy specialising in ATM training. Entry Point North is approved by the Swedish CAA and accepted by all EU member countries. The ATM training solutions offered to customers are carried out in accordance with Best Practice and all international rules and standards including ICAO and EUROCONTROL ESARR 5.
ENTRY POINT NORTH IS A TOTAL TRAINING SOLUTION PROVIDER. In any given week of the study year, students or ATCO professionals from different countries receive initial training or development training. Students are fully trained to meet requirements of the appropriate rating whether this is APS, ADI, APP, ACS or ACP or a combination of these. Specialised programmes are offered within ATSEP, ATS and AFIS training, as well as development training, human factors and safety courses such as OJTI, OJTI Refresher, Assessor, CAT (Controller Aviation Training), and CRM (Crew Resource Management).