The Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (nahco aviance) has been elected as a council member of the Association of African Aviation Training Organisations (AATO).
In the election conducted during the 2nd general assembly of the association held in Kampala, Uganda from August 23-25, nahco aviance, represented by its chief commercial officer, Mr. Seyi Adewale, was elected to represent Nigeria in the 13-member Council.
With the membership which is for the first term of three years, the ground handling firm would, in conjunction with other council members, make policies to further the development of aviation training and development in Africa.
Nahco aviance, which was a panelist on the second day of the event, presented a paper on ‘Taking Aviation Training to the Next Level: Connecting the Dots. No ATO Left Behind.’
In his speech, AATO president, Mr. Tchagbele Sadamba said a special audit carried out on African aviation revealed inefficiencies that “we need to correct because aviation is a very standardised activity.”
He urged participants to come up with concrete steps to reposition aviation training in the continent.
In her remarks the Ugandan minister of works and transport, Ms Monica Azuba Ntege, described aviation training organisations as “crucial” in availing the industry the professionals it requires to thrive and grow.
Consequently, she said regular consultations and interactions are necessary adding that while growth in the global air traffic is necessary, “it presents greater challenges and also confers increased responsibility on aviation personnel and organisations.”
AATO is an association under the African Union (AU) Charter with the aim to standardize and harmonize aviation training in Africa, by designing and developing the criteria and procedures for accreditation of training centres, promoting cooperation and value sharing and as well as being the continents voice in relation with other industry stakeholders.
The Association’s vision and mission is to promote the standardization and harmonization of aviation training through cooperation and sharing of expertise and resources for safer African skies.
In this regard it is fundamental that Advocacy is employed as a strategy to influence policy makers when they make laws and regulations, distribute resources, and make other decisions that affect the industry.