An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 13 As Training Manager for the TTS I was anticipating this call as we had put 14 months' work preparing the school for the audit. (The EASA is the body tasked by the European Commission to ensure safety in the aviation sector and the IAA is the competent authority to carry out the EASA's tasks in Ireland.) The TTS delivers the bachelor of engineering degree in Military Aviation Technology, a trans- ferrable degree accredited at level 7 by Quality & Qualifica- tions Ireland (QQI), awarded by the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). I manage three classes of undergradu- ates on this programme and was appointed project leader to ensure that the TTS became an EASA approved training school. This KPI (key performance indicator) had been outlined in the Defence Forces Annual Plan 2016 and Air Corps senior management was fully supportive of the project. The ACC, the Air Corps' main training wing, is sub- divided into three separate schools, Flying Training School (FTS), Military Training School (MTS), and the TTS; each fulfilling its own specific training role. The College also currently operates a total of seven training aircraft and two simulators. In addition, the College is responsible for first line maintenance of all aircraft assigned to it. The TTS mission statement is 'to deliver the technical education programmes necessary to meet the planned needs of the Air Corps and the development requirements of its personnel. This is advanced through the commitment of its staff and students to the development of the students in the learning environment'. In order to meet the train- ing needs of Air Corps person- nel in an increasingly complex maintenance environment and to benchmark the techni- cal training, EASA Part 147 approval was deemed to be the appropriate standard. The process of getting this approval requires teaching the approved syllabus in an approved school. The route to approval was challenging, involving proving compli- ance with the EASA requirements and liaising directly with the IAA to develop the documentation and processes required for the applica- tion and approval. To achieve Part 147, which governs the establishment of a training organisation, one must show compliance with the requirements of Part 66, which establishes the requirements for the application, issue and continuation of validity of an aircraft maintenance licence. To obtain approval to be an aeronautical training organisation my team and I had to write, submit and keep an updated Maintenance Training Organisation Exposition (MTOE). To support our MTOE we developed a documented set of procedures for every aspect of the delivery and assessment of the theoretical knowledge. Finally, the organisation must have a compliance matrix to show how it meets the requirements of Part 147. The MTOE defines the or- ganisation and the procedures upon which Part 147 approval is based. Major inspections and audits were completed at different stages during 2016 and Mr John Bernard and Mr Craig Caffrey from the IAA Personal Licencing Section met regularly with Sgt Michael Ahern (TTS) and me. This momentous achievement for the TTS now means that Air Corps personnel can now obtain a qualification equivalent to the EASA Part 66 licence; a world standard qualification for aircraft tech- nicians and the minimum qualification standard required for certify- ing staff in EASA-approved maintenance organisations. Approval of the TTS as a Part 147 training organisation demon- strates that TTS graduates are trained and qualified to a globally recognised industry standard. On completion of its audit the IAA approved the TTS to train students in B1.1 (fixed wing turbine), B1.3 (rotary wing turbine) and B2 (avionics). Although there are eight other Part 147 approved schools in Ireland, the TTS will be the first to deliver B1.3 technical training. Having been involved in many projects throughout my career in the Defence Forces, I can say that this project has been by far the most in- depth and rewarding and the higher formation support we received was crucial to achieving our target. Our plan for the project implementation brought all the stakehold- ers together and decided on the timeline and the milestone events. The members of the team were tasked with objectives and reporting lines. With continuing support and encouragement from senior man- agement each milestone was achieved and, after a desktop audit and a number of location visits and inspections, the compliance report was favourably received. In a parallel event, to celebrate its 150th anniversary, the Royal Aero- nautical Society (RAeS) teamed up with University of Limerick to hold a conference on Contemporary Challenges in Continuing Airworthi- ness and Maintenance Education and Training. I was asked to deliver a paper at this event and aware that I would be showcasing the training standards of the TTS to an audience of key players in the national and international aviation sectors, I decided on a paper entitled The Chal- lenges of Becoming EASA Part 147 in a Military Organisation. This was very well received on the day and was favourably reviewed on the RAeS web page. Achieving EASA Part 147 is a major milestone and a significant achievement for the staff of TTS and is a very important accredita- tion for the school. Seeing the TTS listed as an approved school (IE.147.0014) on the IAA website is also tremendously satisfying for myself and my team. Flt Sgt Oliver McKeown at the IAA Offices, Dublin

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