An
instance is Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Academy. His aviation business is
hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons, but students from the
aviation academy are in demand. "Our academy is doing much better than
our aviation business. World over, bulk carriers like Emirates, Qatar,
Etihad are all growing and recruiting. Besides, many cabin crew members
have resigned from India, as international players offer a better
salary. Once we train students, it is not mandatory for them to join
Kingfisher. So, there is continuous demand for air hostesses," said a
senior official from the Kingfisher Airhostess Academy.
Industry sources say the Kingfisher Academy has shut shop at various centres but the latter denied this.
For some others, things have not been that rosy. The Air Hostess
Academy, for instance, shut shop in 2009-10 and has had several
complaints filed against it for failing to refund student fees. Flying
Cats, another institute, recently shut down; a 'Fashionista School of
Fashion Technology' is now available on the earlier contact number of
Flying Cats.
In-house
Training is another flying school whose present whereabouts are not
known. Though their website still exists, the contact numbers on it
could not be reached. A few numbers dialled by Business Standard at some
centres said the institute had shut down.
Issues
"Cabin crew academies are not regulated in India and therein lies the
basic problem. Unlike Pilot Training Academies, the DGCA (Directorate
General of Civil Aviation) does not regulate air hostess academies, so
anyone with available infrastructure can open one. Therefore there could
be dozens of fly-by-night operators in large and small cities, without
anyone having a finger on the actual number," says Rajan Mehra,
co-founder and executive director of Asia Pacific Academy.
The
boom in the airline business in 2006-2009 led to a huge requirement of
cabin crew for airlines. Sector experts say many saw this as an
opportunity to make big money. "Neither were these academies equipped to
handle so many students, nor were a majority of these students the
cabin crew material. They were all promised lucrative jobs in airlines.
But after the course, most students were without jobs," added Mehra.
India
has over half a dozen branded aviation training institutes. Most of
these offer a one-year diploma after the higher secondary (+2)
examination, which prepares the candidates (age between 17 and 24 years)
to join cabin crew of airlines. Most academies charge Rs 1.5-1.75 lakh
for a year's course and Rs 70-75,000 for a six-month course.
Fly-by-night operators sometimes charge much less to build up volumes,
say experts.
Air
hostess training requires specialised courses in grooming, etiquette,
communication skills, aviation, safety and handling emergency
situations. Hence an academy requires highly qualified instructors, with
experience gained from roles in aviation and hospitality. Most
academies, however, cut costs by hiring inexperienced faculty, lacking
qualifications or expertise to be able to teach and guide students,
according to industry players.
The anchored ones
But some like Frankfinn Institute of Air Hostess Training, Aptech
Aviation and Hospitality Academy, and Universal Training Academy are
going great guns.
Frankfinn
has set up around 200 centres, with more in the offing. Samir Walia,
its president, marketing, says the institute got jobs for at least 5,000
students in the past year.
Universal
Aviation Academy, based in Chennai, has had a fairly good placement
season. Sarita Singh, placement in-charge, said demand for ground staff
at airlines had not diminished.The institute offers 70-75 per cent
placements every year.
At
Kompass Aviation, though there was a standstill in placements three
months earlier, the situation is back on track, says Amrutha Lily
Jathanna, senior HR professional at the institute looking after these.
The institute offers 85 per cent placement and Jathanna expects the
situation to bounce back after April. Cabin crew placements are doing
better than others at the institute.
Industry
insiders say institutes which had only concentrated on air hostess
training had to face the brunt of a hiring crisis and eventually shut
down.
"The
big players have an array of courses that help them overcome aviation
crises, as a slowdown is witnessed in cabin crew recuitment and not
ground staff hiring and similar areas," said a placement official of an
aviation institute.
Head-hunters
say the aviation sector may be going through a rough patch, but it's
too early to panic. "Every sector has its business cycle of ups and
down. The sector is not hiring rapidly. But in the next three to four
months, we expect the situation to stabilise," said E Balaji, MD &
CEO, Ma Foi Randstad.
Aptech
Aviation and Hospitality Academy, earlier known as Avalon Academy, says
the aviation industry's situation has not impacted it.
"At
our institute, we are also seeing smaller private airports sending
their employees for skill training. Further, we are focusing on airport
managment and ground handling, apart from courses for air hostess
training. This makes us well diversified," said Shrutidhar Paliwal,
vice-president (corporate communications and media relations).
He
said Air India Singapore Airport Terminal Services had recruited from
them this year. The institute has a placement record of 85-90 per cent
and has both national and international airlines coming for placements.
