Emirates Aviation College (EAC) – Crew Training has reported a record-breaking year for 2014, with over 33,000 attendees in various training courses (with some crew members attending multiple courses in a year). Covering different disciplines from Safety & Emergency Procedures, Medical Training, Service and Image, the training college caters to both new cabin crew recruits as well as existing crew.

In 2014, Emirates invested about AED 73 million in cabin crew training which saw a total of 4,280 new cabin crew or ‘ab initios’ graduating from the facility. 4,136 existing crew trained for a cabin upgrade, 534 cabin crew graduated to be Pursers and 17,650 crew participated in their Recurrent training ­ a mandatory course crew undertake every year. To meet this training demand, EAC – Crew Training operated at an average of 17 hours per day, conducting 3,994 courses equivalent to 245,262 training days.

“The depth and diversity of our training operations is fundamental to the great service that we offer on Emirates, and it is something that we will always invest in. 2014 has been a busy year for the Cabin Crew Training team and it reflects the exponential growth of Emirates. We finished the year with a team of nearly 20,000 cabin crew,” said Catherine Baird, Senior Vice President Cabin Crew Training, Emirates.

“Emirates has become the airline of choice for those who dream of pursuing a career as cabin crew and other exciting roles in aviation. This year we have had up to 120 new recruits joining us each week.”

Opened in 2007, the EAC Crew Training facility supports training in a number of key learning areas for new recruits, the ab-initios, who undergo an intense 7.5 weeks of training. It houses a variety of specialised training rooms and equipment to support learning in the areas of: Safety & Emergency Procedures; Medical Training; Security Training, Cabin Service Training, and Image & Uniform amongst others. There is also a dedicated Induction team who take care of the new recruits as they arrive and settle into Dubai, introduce them to the city and guide them on the culture and traditions of the region.

But more than the impressive numbers that show the extent of Emirates’ operations, Crew Training gives emphasis to the highest standards of training in a state-of-the-art facility which is wholly-owned and operated by Emirates. Training has both theoretical and practical components and the courses are conducted by highly qualified staff, many of whom are former cabin crew themselves. The EAC Crew Training facility is equipped with advanced full motion simulators including A330/A340, Boeing 777 and A380 that makes emergency scenarios for new cabin crew very realistic. Service training in mock aircraft across Emirates’ fleet types and cabins makes sure that crew are familiarised with the aircraft in a true-to-life environment, while they practice serving different types of meals and responding to service requests from customers.

“The quality of training that we provide makes sure that Emirates crew are not only competent but confident to perform their duties once they leave training. With a focus on competency and evidence based training in an experiential setting, our cabin crew practice with real world scenarios.” concluded Ms Baird.

Emirates Aviation College-Cabin Crew Training 2014 Quick Facts:

* AED 73 million spent on crew training

* 33,448 attendees in various training courses (with some crew members attending multiple courses in a year)

* 478 trainers (both part-time and full-time)

* 3,994 courses delivered

* 338 ab-initio batches

* 4,280 ab-initios (new recruits)

* 534 cabin crew graduated as Pursers

* 17,650 cabin crew who completed Recurrent courses

* 4,136 cabin crew who completed upgrade courses

* 7,656 cabin crew who completed one-day review courses and conversion courses

* 3,772 pilots completed Safety and Emergency Procedures’ Recurrent courses