Page 15 - ATC Special Bulletin Series - Training & Simulation 2022-01

ATC NETWORK AIRWAYS QUESTION 3 Do you have a strategy to facilitate a safe transition for controllers, from the prolonged period of low traffic to the higher levels predicted in the coming months? Airways has a very mature competency-based framework that supports our Air Traffic Controllers with ongoing maintenance of proficiency. A key focus for our training activities was to ensure risk of exposure to Covid-19 was minimised – stringent pandemic protocols were developed for all of our training teams, which minimised any disruption to training including skills maintenance. We deployed a number of desktop mobile simulators to site for our tower teams, providing a digital training solution that facilitated an agile approach to training. The enhanced capability to remote pilot from a central location allowed the mobile simulator to be deployed to a number of regional units, removing the requirement for teams to travel to our Christchurch or Auckland based simulators. The implementation of these training solutions and the pandemic protocols to support their delivery has allowed Airways to continue to plan training initiatives at a unit level. This has enabled us to include the opportunity for our teams to engage in higher traffic volumes and a range of traffic scenarios that may not have been encountered at the unit. Simulation has been used to augment training activities, such as local Cyclical Training (CT), skills enhancement training (workload management exercises), response training and initial rating training activities. 15 © DFS | 01 | TRAINING & SIMULATION | |