Due to the confidentiality requirements of discussing a crewmember security course here in a public forum, we will limit the material presented for security reasons. However there are some very important aspects your company needs to take into consideration when auditing and evaluating a security course.

An important aspect of a flight crew security course is maintaining adequate quality control over the curriculum, instructors and updating the course to maintain relevance in light of the threats that exist for the aviation community. The security training crewmembers receive are as important as any other form of training that they may receive. It is imperative that the course material presented remains relevant to crewmember security needs. The security training that crewmembers receive should not just be a ‘checkbox filler’, but are an important part of the crewmember’s continued education.

Aviation Safety and Security Association personnel are very knowledgable of adult classroom teaching techniques

The classroom and teaching aids within the classroom setting are very important for several reasons. The classroom needs to be of adequate size, temperature, lighting and comfort to create an environment of learning for crewmembers. Enough space for in-class scenarios, bulletin boards that should provide security information, and other important teaching props should be available. The care taken in classroom preparation will indicate the importance of crewmember security training to the company. A bland and generic classroom provides little incentive to adult learners.

The course curriculum is extremely important to establish and maintain for both initial and recurrent classes. The same old training received over and over again will not take into the account the lessons learned prior to 9/11, where security training was relegated to the same old video tapes and a discussion of proper transponder codes. A proactive approach to aviation security through crewmember training is an important new aspect of aviation safety and security.

Crewmember security instructors need to be knowledgeable of aviation security issues and chosen because of that ability. Instructors who read the information off a power point slide are not teaching, but are reading to adults who can read a slide for themselves. Instructors who have little interest and knowledge of the subject matter will be rightfully disregarded by crewmembers. An instructor needs to be able to adequately answer questions about the material that is being presented or the information is in risk of being disregarded. Instructors who make the effort to learn the material in the course, can reasonably answer questions related to the course, and strive to educate themselves further on aviation security issues are the most desirable individuals for the position.