Many Vietnamese pilots fail to be employed despite costly overseas training 

Lai Xuan Thanh, director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV), told a recent meeting to review aviation human resource quality that pilot training quality in Vietnam has yet to meet requirements amid current modernisation and globalisation processes.

He said this was because of incompetant teachers and substandard teaching facilities.

“The recent serious aviation incidents happened as a result of incompetant staff,” Thanh said.

While pilots have to get overseas training, other aviation staff can be trained in Vietnam at 13 institutions, five of which are run by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines.

“The Academy of Aviation is the largest of its kind in Vietnam. However, training quality is still susbtandard,” Duong Cao Thai Nguyen, the principle of academy, said.

An official from Vietnam Airlines said it costs about USD100,000 to train a pilot overseas, the cost shared by the carrier and trainers. After finishing basic training, pilots are advised to pay another USD30,000 for further training to be certified as an assistant pilot at accredited aviation companies.

Nguyen Duc Tam, deputy director of VietJet Air, said its pilots pay USD60,000 towards their training, in addition to VND99m to the organiser of the training course.

“Due to strict foreign language requirements and physical health minimums, between 15 and 20 percent of trainees fail to complete their training," Tam said.

"High tuition fees mean only a few families in Vietnam can afford to support their children’s pilot training. While aviation employment demand is on the rise, there are only a few eligible candidates,” he said.

In several cases, trainees have been found to have been cheated by training institutions.

Recently, 79 Vietnamese pilot trainees, including 21 employees of VietJet Air, sent a petition to the Ministry of Transport seeking help after being swindled by a training instituion in the US.

They had each USD85,000 in tuition fees and accommodation expenses, but the company, Ahart, shut down in late 2014 and the facility’s owner, Nguyen Duc Minh, suddenly fled with all the money, leaving the trainees homeless.

Lai Xuan Thanh, CAAV’s director said, the administration had contacted the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), which confirmed Ahart’s certification expired in July 2013. The FAA said Ahart applied for a renewal of its certification twice, but was refused, the last time in October 2014, for failing to meet aviation safety regulations.

“Only six out of these trainees have finished their training and got a certificate," Thanh said. "The CAAV has set up a council to appraise their quality, but only one pilot has taken the test."

Airlines and the Transport Ministry are exploring options to allow the pilots to continue their training.