Oman Wires It's all about Oman
In an exclusive interview with Muscat Daily, Capt Hamed A al Jabri, founder and CEO of the centre mentioned, “It has always been my dream. More than ten to 15 years ago I had decided to set up a training centre as this would help me and my pilot colleagues after retirement. I did not want to end up staying at home.” Capt Jabri mentioned that aviation in Oman is a extremely quickly expanding field and the demand is there for jobs with new airports coming up in the nation.
“MATC, which will cover all aspects of aviation and not just flying, which includes pilots, cabin crew, ground staff, dispatchers, drivers at the airport and all kinds of jobs related to aviation. “We have the recognition of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and approached the International Air Transport Association (IATA). We will finalise the initial agreements by middle of this month,” he mentioned, adding, “We will then be an IATA accredited aviation training centre. I have already approached International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and hopefully by the end of this month we should be recognised by all the international bodies.”
Capt Jabri mentioned that in the centre, various job profiles will be controlled by various bodies. “Some by ICAO, some by IATA, few by EASA and few by us and the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA).”
For pilots, MATC has an agreement with European Aviation Academy in Malta to do the instruction. Students can do theory (14 subjects) in Oman at the centre and then do their sensible instruction in Malta. “Or if they wish, they can do the whole course in Malta, under our supervision. We will groom them fully before they go. Parents can monitor the progress of their children by seeing our weekly reports,” he mentioned.
For cabin crew there is an in-home simple course, mentioned Capt Jabri. “This is of three-month duration. We made our own syllabus, in which we took the best from different airlines.”
For the dispatchers course, the instructor is authorized by EASA and he will come from Malta and this is also a 3 and half months course.
“Besides these, we have all other aviation courses, which include ticketing, decision-making, grooming first officers who are ready to become captains, etc,” mentioned Capt Jabri. After getting worked with Gulf Air, Air Mauritius, Egypt Air, Philippine Airlines and now with Oman Air because 1998, Capt Jabri has much more than 30 years of encounter in aviation.
“I have been a trainer and an examiner with Oman Air since 2003. “I think I know the ins and outs of this field and where the demand is. Today we have all the approvals from the different ministries, Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muscat Municipality, besides PACA,” he added.
“In 2009, I started my first research and sent applications for approvals that are needed to set up the centre. I struggled almost nine years to achieve what I am today,” he added. It is an costly field, but the instruction at MATC would be inexpensive, mentioned Capt Jabri. “We have highly experienced instructors, both Omanis and expatriates,” he mentioned.
Those interested can apply at www.muscat-atc.com and verify out all the courses accessible also. Capt Jabri mentioned, “Recently we signed an agreement with Malta, and two agreements with Kuala Lumpur, viz. First for language, decision-making, etc and the second is with Air Asia for pilots. Those with Commercial Pilot Licence – Instrument Rating (CPL-IR), can approach us and we can take it forward with the Air Asia agreement. The training centre is open to Omanis as well as expatriates.The plan is to grow bigger.”
Information Source: Muscat Daily
