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The New Aviation Gateway Package
Help the next generation of aviation professionals get off to a flying start
- Challenges facing the aviation industry
- What is ATTTO doing about it?
- What is Gateway?
- Making Gateway easy
- The new Aviation Gateway package
- What the changes mean
- How do i get involved?
- **NEW** AUGUST UPDATE
Challenges facing the aviation industry
It is widely known that the aviation industry in New Zealand is facing unprecedented skill and staff shortages. We know that each year since 2005 we have experienced a shortage of around 100 – 140 pilots per annum. This increases to over 1,100 other aviation jobs that need filling per annum, including the shrinking engineering sector.
We also know that there are a large number of highly experienced professionals who are approaching retirement age. This creates gaps that will need to be filled to meet the projected workload.
Directly or not, these are serious challenges that affect the sustainability of each and every aviation business in New Zealand, including yours.
In addition to developing nationally recognised qualifications and coordinating workplace training, ATTTO has a role to play in identifying current and future skill needs, helping to attract people into aviation, and providing skills development.
We have been working hard over the past year to build a solid collection of initiatives aimed at piquing students’ interest in aviation at an early age and getting them involved in training.
The most critical of these initiatives is the introduction of a revised Aviation Gateway Package. Redeveloped to make it as easy as possible for workplaces to deliver, the success of this programme relies heavily on cooperation by businesses such as yours.
Gateway is a programme initiated and funded by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC). It enables interested secondary students to experience what it’s like to work in an aviation environment, and in turn make informed choices about their future career path.
School students spend time in the workplace with a local employer (usually one day a week), enabling them to gain practical skills and knowledge. They work towards achieving particular unit standards (learning topics), which will prepare them for further study, training, or employment after high school.
It differs from work experience, which tends to give students a taste of different occupations to help in career decision making. Gateway is specifically designed for students who have shown a particular interest in aviation. You are able to preview potential students, and there is no obligation to offer the student a position for the long-term.
For employers, it is an opportunity to get extra help in the workplace, gain experience in training, contribute to the community, and possibly access potential future employees. Most of all, it means you are giving an interested student the opportunity to develop a life-long passion at a crucial point in their career.
We understand that the old Gateway package needed refining to make it more user friendly for workplaces. ATTTO wants to make it as simple as possible for employers to get involved in Gateway. We have listened to your feedback, and revamped the package to be easily achievable in any aviation workplace.
The new Aviation Gateway Package:
• is designed to give students an introduction to aviation in general and is not sector specific
• can be easily achieved within an aviation workplace of any size, sector or role
• is free for the workplace
• does not require the student to be assessed at all within the workplace
• students would not need to perform complex tasks, they would instead observe and assist the tasks you already perform
on a day to day basis
• is standardised for all schools
• ensures there are no liability issues for the workplace in the event that a serious incident occurs that is directly
attributable to a Gateway student
• complies with the regulatory and safety requirements of the aviation industry
• ensures quality standards are maintained across the aviation sector
• does not ‘water down’ the value of the existing industry qualifications
• does not reinvent the wheel; instead incorporates existing engineering basic subjects (unit standards) that are already
available within the ITO sector wherever possible.
Click here to view the unit standards that students can work towards.
The major improvement in the new Aviation Gateway Package is that it makes it simple and easy for your business to now be involved.
The student would visit your business perhaps once a week as an introduction to the world of aviation. They would not need to be assessed performing different practical tasks. Instead, they would observe and assist in your regular day to day operations.
The student would then return to school and be assessed on the unit standards listed in the table above. Students will need to complete projects showing how the various subjects relate to your specific workplace.
17 credits that the student completes form the core compulsory section of the National Certificate in Aviation (Introductory) [Level 2], the generic, introductory level aviation qualification. The remaining 3 credits are essential for higher level certification in the industry.
This qualification then prepares students for entry into further National Certificate and National Diploma level qualifications in whichever sector of aviation they may choose to pursue when they leave school.
It is the first step for students who are interested in pursing a career in aviation. All you need to provide is time, and a work environment that is encouraging and positive.
Together we can invest in the future of aviation.
Workplaces: Contact Bob Feasey on 04 815 9832 now to register your interest.
Teachers: Contact Roger Brittain on 027 488 5087 or Willie Toelau on 027 282 5087 for more information on how your students can get involved in their local area.
August Update
ATTTO would like to thank the businesses who have agreed to help the next generation of aviation professionals get off to a flying start.
So far we have been approached by 15 aviation workplaces throughout New Zealand – from aero clubs to flying schools to engineering shops - who have put their hand up to take on an interested student.
These workplaces are to be congratulated for taking this important step towards helping an interested young person develop a life-long passion at a crucial point in their career-decision making period.
The recent AIA conference (21 – 23 July, Tauranga) saw a number of aviation businesses step up in other ways, such as registering their willingness to host a school visit or agreeing to speak at a local school about the aviation industry.
These businesses were often the same ones who indicated they were willing to host a student.
While this is a fantastic start, it is essential that more aviation businesses follow this lead and play their part in the future of our workforce.
There are a multitude of ways your business can get involved - from taking a Gateway student to speaking at a local school to hosting a class at your premises as an introduction to the industry.
To register your interest for any of these initiatives, contact Bob Feasey on 04 815 9832 or at
Next steps
Throughout August, ATTTO will work to:
- Provide materials to workplaces clarifying their role in the Gateway programme
- Coordinate between students, schools and workplaces to ensure that placements are available and filled
- Work with Catlin’s School and other providers to ensure that the provision of resources to support these students continues to grow
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