On Sunday, September 17, 2023, Oxford Saudi Academy celebrated the graduates of the “Training Leading into Employment” program on their first day of work as flight instructors.
Graduates will begin their career path by training for a CFII - flight instructor license - within their contractual agreement, and after completing the training and being approved by the General Authority of Civil Aviation, they will be able to provide training to the new generations of students in Oxford’s aviation program.
Graduates are also allowed to join any job from any external entity if they wish and at any time, and the academy will cover the costs of type-rating training according to the operating system “SOP” for the airlines wishing to employ them, which increases their chances of joining airline companies and representing the nation’s graduates.
Congratulations to our students for this achievement, and we wish them continued progress and success.
By the sponsorship of HRH Prince Saud bin Naif, Governor of the Eastern Province, the graduation ceremony of the first batch of the “Training that Ends with Employment” program at the OxfordSaudia Flight Academy, which numbered 35 graduates for various licenses.
His Highness the Prince of the Eastern Province appreciated the efforts of the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques HRH King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and the care of HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to develop the Saudi human resources and empower it to contribute to building and developing the nation.
His Highness said, "We are all proud of the excellence of our sons and daughters in all fields. There is no doubt that the field of air transport is one of the most important fields that the leadership is keen to develop and invest in, by training the nation's youths and qualifying them to be able and qualified to enter this promising market" especially the pilot profession, which The labor market in the Kingdom is still in need of localization in light of the significant expansion of the transportation system in accordance with the national strategy for transport and logistics services, and in light of the expansion in the airports, the increased demand for air transport, and the establishment of modern airlines in the Kingdom.
The growth of aviation was a catalyst for OxfordSaudia.
The Board Chairman of OxfordSaudia Flight Academy, Colonel Othman Al-Mutairi, delivered a speech in which he expressed his thanks and appreciation to HRH, for his sponsorship of the students’ graduation ceremony, and his constant encouragement and support for them to become a productive member of society. Which led to a positive impact on the academy’s achievements and scientific outputs.
The Chairman stated that the rapid growth in the aviation sector was an essential motivator for the Academy to contribute to achieving the goals of the civil aviation sector emanating from the “National Civil Aviation Strategy” and the “National Transport and Logistics Services Strategy,” by working diligently to localize pilot professions; To meet the urgent market need, and raise the number of people joining this profession, including sons and daughters of the nation, pointing out the Academy’s keen on the quality of its outputs through advanced scientific curricula in partnership with Oxford Flight Academy, which demonstrate a collective experience of over 70 years in the aviation training industry.
Al-Mutairi explained that the Training Leading into Employment Program, which the academy provides to its students in partnership with Oxford International, with the support of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, enables graduates to obtain hundreds of job opportunities as flight instructors in one of the academy’s branches around the world, including the Dammam branch, stressing that the academy qualifies Its graduates enter the job market with the experience and flight hours required, at the hands of the academy’s experienced trainers who work according to Oxford standards and curricula for qualifying professional pilots in this field, and in accordance with the regulations and laws of the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors thanked the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development and its branch in the region for the facilities they provided to support both the nationalization and the students in obtaining work contracts, he also thanked the Civil Aviation Authority for overcoming all difficulties, and all concerned parties in the region.
The academy's air fleet is the largest in the Middle East
Alumni Speech
After that, pilot Abdulaziz Al-Muhaimid gave the graduates’ speech, in which he expressed the graduates’ joy on their graduation day, which came as a culmination of years of hard work, diligence, struggle, and hard work in the pursuit of advancement and knowledge, especially in aviation training, aspiring to serve the religion, the king, and the nation, and to pass towards a bright and prosperous future in the aviation industry, to achieve the aspirations of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 in the aviation sector.
Pilot Abdulaziz Al-Muhammed delivers the graduates’ speech.
For his part, the Director of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in the Eastern Region branch, Abdul Rahman bin Fahd Al-Muqbel, extended his thanks and appreciation to His Royal Highness Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz, Prince of the Eastern Region, for his continuous and unlimited support for the educational process in the region, and for his care and participation of the graduate pilots in their joy.
Al-Muqbel Emphasized the contribution of the Academy's Training Leading into Employment Program, in raising the level of participation of the nation’s young men and women in the job market and raising nationalization rates in the aviation sector in a way that ensures that young competencies are empowered with job opportunities as aviation instructors, he also emphasized on the importance of the program, which is to meet the government's aspirations and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, in order to create the future with conscious professional minds in the aviation sector, and that the program is based on linking the training outcomes to the educational, professional, developmental and economic needs of the community.
Al-Muqbil explained that the Ministry is keen on nationalizing the Profession and empowering the citizens by providing a package of incentives and support to private sector establishments in employing Saudis, and to benefit from all available nationalization support programs and support and employment programs through the Goal Fund, as the decision to nationalize licensed aviation professions aims to Provide more than 4,000 job opportunities in various specializations of the sector, and it comes in two stages, as the first stage began on March 15, 2023, with the nationalization of the professions of air traffic controller, air dispatcher, ground movement coordinator, and co-pilot, by 100%, and the profession of fixed-wing pilot. By 60%, and the profession of flight attendant by 50%. The second phase will begin on March 4, 2024, with the nationalization of the profession of fixed-wing pilot by 70%, and the profession of flight attendant by 60%.
The ceremony included a visual presentation about the academic journey of the graduates at the academy, and then concluded with taking group memorial photos.
All graduates of the batch who hold a commercial license also begin their job as pilot instructors at the academy. They have also begun training for a CFI license, a “flight instructor license,” with costs fully covered, as part of their contractual plan with OxfordSaudia Flight Academy for the “Flight Training Leading into Employment” program.
As mentioned before, the foundation program which is approved by Cambridge University is being delivered by Knowledge Resources for Languages, a company that belongs to the Saudi National Company of Aviation, in case the student desire to develop his/her English language, Math and Physics. The foundation program is not a mandatory entry requirement for the certified flight program under GACAR 141 and it is not part of GACA entry requirements of this program.
The partnership aims to meet China's demand for 10,000 pilots annually in the coming years.
OxfordSaudia flight academy continued achieving further cooperation with its partners in the People's Republic of China; This is after previous successful efforts in an agreement to train 1,000 Chinese students at the OxfordSaudia academy in the Kingdom, with a value
exceeding 350 million Saudi riyals in 2021.
Following that agreement, another announcement was made this month by both OxfordSaudia and YCATCO China - Shandong, signing an agreement to establish training centers to train the Chinese students at two locations in China, in order to provide pilots cadets to meet China’s future needs, with a training capacity of up to 4,000 students in the two locations.
The agreement sets a new precedent of its kind to the Saudi exports of the aviation and the education sectors, as it highlighted the role of the academy in the aviation education industry in China and in the domestic region, which increases opportunities of cooperation and exchange of experience and technology between the two countries, with an exponential development in creating an environment that attracts investments and creates job opportunities for young Saudi Arabian and Chinese men and women.
OxfordSaudia Academy aims to create attractive job opportunities for its fresh graduate students through its program "Flight Training Ending with Employment", by working as a flight instructor at its branches in Saudi Arabia, China, or other Oxford international academies that are compatible its regulatory structure and curricula. This partnership will also create up to 1,600 job opportunities for the Saudi graduates to join after graduation over a period of 3 years.
OxfordSaudia provides the branches with a fleet of aircraft, Saudi flight instructors, systems and curricula, and other support, while the Chinese side provides buildings, infrastructure, permits, and workforce.
The Chinese company YCATCO works in the professional human resources field, specifically in aviation talents, and intends with this partnership to employ its services and expertise, alongside with OxfordSaudia competencies in the operation and management of aviation academies, which demonstrated its effectiveness during and after the Covid-19 pandemic in operation recovery and performance improvement. The role of YCATCO also lies in signing the necessary government permits and requirements, as well as working on the procedures for commercial pilot licenses in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
The role of OxfordSaudia in the agreement is as a service provider and a strategic partner in managing the two sites and providing the necessary crew of Saudi flight instructors, which might reach up to 1,600 trainers, and a fleet of approximately 120 training aircraft, and more than 20 flight simulators. Its duties revolves around providing quality and safety management systems, operational processes, provision of Saudi flight instructors, curriculum development & maintenance, maintenance activities, IT infrastructure and assets, and a student selection process. Key position holders, management support and oversight, exchange of overflow training and education, and other tasks of the Saudi Oxford Academy’s specialization in the field of aviation education are also to be a focus.
تهدف الشراكة لتلبية حاجة الصين للطيارين المقدرة ب 10,000 طيار سنوياً في قادم السنوات.
مضت اكاديمية أكسفورد السعودية للطيران لتحقيق المزيد من التعاون مع شركائها في جمهورية الصين الشعبية؛ وذلك بعد جهود سابقة تكللت بالنجاح في اتفاقية لتدريب 1000 طالب صيني لدى أكاديمية أكسفورد السعودية في المملكة بقيمة تتجاوز 350 مليون ريال سعودي عام 2021.
وتلت تلك الاتفاقية ما أعلنته هذا الشهر كلاً من أكاديمية أكسفورد السعودية وشركة YCATCO الصين - شاندونج، عن توقيع اتفاقية لإنشاء فروع لتدريب طيارين صينيين في موقعين من جمهورية الصين الشعبية، وذلك لتوفير الكوادر من الطيارين لتلبية حاجة الصين المستقبلية، بقدرة تدريبة حتى 4000 طالب في الموقعين.
وتعتبر الاتفاقية سابقة من نوعها في مجال الصادرات السعودية في قطاع الطيران وقطاع التعليم، حيث ابرزت دور الأكاديمية في صناعة تعليم الطيران في الوسط الصيني والإقليمي، مما يزيد فرص التعاون وتبادل الخبرات والتقنيات بين البلدين، وفق وتيرة تصاعدية لخلق بيئة جاذبة للاستثمارات وخلق الفرص في القطاع السعودي والصيني.
وتهدف أكاديمية أكسفورد السعودية لخلق فرص وظيفية جذابة لحديثي التخرج من طلابها، وذلك عبر برنامجها "تدريب الطيران المنتهي بالتوظيف" للعمل في تدريب الطيران لدى فروعها في السعودية والصين وغيرها من اكاديميات أكسفورد العالمية متوافقة الأنظمة والمناهج. وكما ستخلق هذه الشراكة ما يقارب من 1600 فرصة عمل جاهزة للخريجين السعوديين للعمل كمدرب طيار خلال 3 سنوات من التشغيل.
تزود أكسفورد السعودية المقرين بأسطول طائرات، مدربي طيران سعوديين، الأنظمة والمناهج، وغيرها، ويوفر الجانب الصيني المباني، البنى التحتية، التصاريح والكفاءات.
تعمل شركة YCATCO الصينية في مجالات الموارد البشرية الاحترافية، وتحديداً في كوادر ومهارات الطيران، وتعتزم بتوقيعها للشراكة في توظيف خدماتها وخبراتها بجانب ما تمتلكه أكاديمية أكسفورد السعودية من كفاءات في التشغيل والإدارة لأكاديميات الطيران، والتي بانت فعاليتها أثناء وبعد جائحة كوفيد-19 في التشغيل والتعافي من الأزمة ورفع الأداء. وكما يكمن دور YCATCO في امضاء ما يلزم من تصاريح حكومية واشتراطات، بجانب العمل على إجراءات رخص الطيران التجارية وفقاً لاشتراطات إدارة الطيران المدني في الصين.
يتمثل دور أكسفورد السعودية بالاتفاقية كمزود للخدمات وشريك استراتيجي في إدارة الموقعين وتوفير اللازم من طاقم مدربي الطيران السعوديين بما يصل إلى 1600 مدرب، واسطول طائرات يقارب 120 طائرة تدريب، وأكثر من 20 محاكي طيران.
وتتمحور واجباتها في توفير أنظمة ادارة الجودة والسلامة في الطيران، انظمة العمليات والتشغيل، توفير مدربي الطيران السعوديين، تطوير ومتابعة التقويم الدراسي، خدمات الصيانة، أصول ومرافق تقنية المعلومات، عملية ترشيح واختيار الطلبة، الموارد البشرية ودعم ومتابعة الإدارة، تبادل الخبرات عبر مراحل التدريب والتعليم، وغيرها من مهام تخصص أكاديمية أكسفورد السعودية في مجال تعليم الطيران.
