Presenter Email
lindsey.vanbeusekom@alpa.org
Location
Jim W. Henderson Administration & Welcome Center (Bldg. #602)
Start Date
8-13-2018 10:30 AM
End Date
8-13-2018 12:00 PM
Submission Type
Presentation
Other Topic Area
Mentoring
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Abstract
In recent years, aviation universities in the United States have been experiencing strong student interest in flight training and career as a professional pilot, while some regional airlines and flight operators have experienced challenges in meeting the hiring demand for pilots. In many cases, these challenges have been resolved by improving the work/life balance, pay, and career-progression aspects provided by the airline.
The industry must be proactive in attracting people to the career. In addition, the pilot-supply chain should be viewed as an ecosystem, one that must maintain the capability and capacity to train and certify future generations of pilots.
The first officer qualification standards provide essential structure within the pilot ecosystem by providing a continuous stream of flight instructors to train the next generation of pilots. Without the current rules, most pilots may never flight instruct and instead go straight to an airline pilot position. Equally important is the professional, practical, and academic development of pilots as they begin and progress in their careers. Mentoring can be leveraged to increase the retention of flight students, improve the quality of training, and increase pilot performance within the airline environment.
To maintain the pilot supply needed into the future, the ecosystem of flight training and entry-level flying must be maintained, and the industry must be cognizant of changes that may upset the equilibrium that exists today. This includes making the career attractive through improving working conditions, promoting the profession, and mentoring through all phases of a pilot’s career.
Presenter Biography
First Officer Lindsey Van Beusekom is an Embraer 145 pilot for ExpressJet Airlines and the interim chair of the Fee for Departure Committee at the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA). After just two years as an ExpressJet instructor where she has been a pilot since 2013, Van Beusekom’s proficiency led the company to promote her to lead Human Factors instructor in 2018. Van Beusekom maintains FAA rating qualifications in single- and multiple-engine commercial aircraft, including the Embraer 135/145.
Responsible for creating content for advanced qualification program curriculum, including initial new-hire and recurrent classes, Van Beusekom is also tasked with ensuring that human factors instructional classes are in compliance with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Advanced Qualification Program and Safety Management System guidelines.
Van Beusekom began her ALPA work with the Association’s Critical Incident Response Program, designed to mitigate the psychological impact of an incident or accident and aid in the normal recovery from these events before harmful stress reactions affect pilot job performance, careers, families, and health. Her work has included actively supporting Part 121 passenger operations throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico, as well as opposing the repeal or watering down of FAR 117 or first officer qualifications. Along with her other leadership roles within the ExpressJet pilot community, Van Beusekom also served ALPA’s membership as a Flight Operations Quality Assurance gatekeeper from 2015 to 2017.
In her current role as the interim chair of ALPA’s Fee for Departure Committee, Van Beusekom works closely with ALPA staff and pilot leadership from each of the 14 ALPA regional pilot groups in the United States and Canada. With more than 15,000 of the Association’s 60,000 pilot members flying for regional airlines, Van Beusekom is tasked with developing strategies to counter threats and capture opportunities in the piloting profession ranging from fostering career progression to improvements in pay, benefits, working conditions, and retirement packages.
A native of Nashville, Tenn., Van Beusekom holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from City University in Washington state, and is currently completing a master of business administration degree at Southern New Hampshire University. She is a Women in Aviation International member, and her love for children has led her to become an active volunteer with Young Eagles in Little Rock, Ark., and the Ronald McDonald House in Houston, Tex., where she currently resides.
Original PPT
Pilot-Supply Sustainability—Standards, Outreach, and Mentoring
Jim W. Henderson Administration & Welcome Center (Bldg. #602)
In recent years, aviation universities in the United States have been experiencing strong student interest in flight training and career as a professional pilot, while some regional airlines and flight operators have experienced challenges in meeting the hiring demand for pilots. In many cases, these challenges have been resolved by improving the work/life balance, pay, and career-progression aspects provided by the airline.
The industry must be proactive in attracting people to the career. In addition, the pilot-supply chain should be viewed as an ecosystem, one that must maintain the capability and capacity to train and certify future generations of pilots.
The first officer qualification standards provide essential structure within the pilot ecosystem by providing a continuous stream of flight instructors to train the next generation of pilots. Without the current rules, most pilots may never flight instruct and instead go straight to an airline pilot position. Equally important is the professional, practical, and academic development of pilots as they begin and progress in their careers. Mentoring can be leveraged to increase the retention of flight students, improve the quality of training, and increase pilot performance within the airline environment.
To maintain the pilot supply needed into the future, the ecosystem of flight training and entry-level flying must be maintained, and the industry must be cognizant of changes that may upset the equilibrium that exists today. This includes making the career attractive through improving working conditions, promoting the profession, and mentoring through all phases of a pilot’s career.
Comments
Presented during Session 2: Pilot Supply