Behind the scenes of airBaltic Technical Academy

A Story About How to Create an Academy

Last month, airBaltic announced that it is accepting applications for its new Technical Academy. The airBaltic Pilot Academy is already well known in the Baltics and beyond, but the Technical Academy is something new. Its mission is to train high-level specialists (EASA Part-66 licensed aircraft technicians) while providing practical work experience and peer-mentor support during training. This is also good news for high school or technical school graduates interested in becoming aircraft technicians. In addition, it’s great news for those who are considering enrolling in university to study technical sciences, and even for auto mechanics wanting to try working in a different field. In less than a year, the vision of having an academy to provide airBaltic with the number of mechanics and technicians it needs has become a reality under the leadership of Olga Čivžele. It should be noted that she joined airBaltic only in October of last year. She is also responsible for training for the entire Technical Department at airBaltic. However, from her very first day on the job, it was clear that the creation of the Academy was a priority.

You began working on such a big project as soon as you joined airBaltic!

I like challenges (laughs), and I get a full dose of them here! These first seven months have been challenging indeed. My first goal was to understand where I had arrived. At first, I couldn’t even understand the language people around me here were speaking (laughs)! I mean the terminology and the jargon. So for the first few months I read and studied a lot: regulatory documents, guidelines, procedures. I talked with people, I asked questions to understand and start to feel my way around the field of aviation and the demands that this industry makes. But now I feel confident in meetings! As far as the Academy is concerned, the main thing initially was to understand what its structure would be, what the streams of study would be, and most importantly, what is the goal we want to achieve.

Where did you work before airBaltic?

I’ve worked in higher education for 15 years. I was a lecturer, the director of a master’s programme, and a vice-dean at the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, and for many years I was a visiting lecturer and director of a study programme at Alberta College in Riga. I also managed international projects in both places of work. In addition, I have extensive administrative experience in education.

And how did it happen that you joined airBaltic?

Completely by chance. Before then, I had worked for four years at Rīgas Namu Pārvaldnieks [the Riga municipal administrator of residential buildings – Ed.]. I had decided to transfer to a different field, because I realised that I had reached my peak in higher education and I wanted to try something different. I also realised that I like administrative work much better than teaching; I wanted to organise, plan, and introduce new things. So I left higher education and worked for RNP for four years, where I was in charge of staff training. This experience was very, very valuable for me to understand how things work inside a company, because on-the-job education is of course very different from education as a student. I remember I was about to go on a trip and needed to pay to park my car at the airport. I began looking around on airBaltic’s website, and it took me further and further until I ended up in the vacancies section. I saw the vacancy for this job and realised that I needed to apply. I wasn’t even thinking about leaving my previous job. But I read the advertisement and realised that I met every single requirement for the job. It seemed to be written just for me. I’ve been a loyal airBaltic customer for many years. When I was asked during the job interview why I wanted to work for airBaltic, I said I had the impression that everything here operates at a very high level and that I’d very much like to know what from my experience I could bring to the company to help it grow. That’s why it was such a big challenge for me: if my perception of the company is that everything’s already at a very high level, then I have to match that.

How, in your own mind, did you formulate your task?

Motivating the employees. My experience in formal education helped a lot. As a programme director, I’ve often talked with students and tried to persuade them to not give up. I’ve tried to talk, persuade, and help them to find their own way of self-development. And the same applies here – when people come to me and tell me about their situations and the reasons why they can’t study further, I try to put everything into perspective and help them find a way to make it happen.

What were the first steps in setting up the Technical Academy?

First, we had to evaluate our needs: the number of graduates we needed, because that determined what kind of groups we formed, the size limit of the groups, and, one of the most important aspects, who our target audience is. We focused on people we were interested in at this moment, so that we could achieve results as quickly as possible, because the process inevitably takes four or five years. We defined three streams of study and prepared an optimal offer for each of these target audiences.

One of these is the RTU, or higher education, stream. We’ve engaged Riga Technical University as a partner in providing higher education to our students who want it. As a result, they get both a higher education and EASA Part-66 training to become aircraft technicians.

The second stream of students complete their secondary vocational education in collaboration with Liepāja State Technical College, and then they continue their studies at airBaltic to receive EASA Part-66 training and become certified aircraft technicians.

The third stream, or mechanics’ stream, is especially suited to people who already have good technical skills and want to start or change their career and join airBaltic. It’s also for those who want or need more stability in life, because they begin working at airBaltic when they begin their studies. They also undergo EASA Part-66 training and become aircraft technicians within four years. Most importantly, all of this training is paid for by airBaltic, and the airline also offers graduates employment.

That’s a very generous offer!

Yes, very. In the coming years, we plan to continue growing our fleet, and we’ll need a large number of technicians and mechanics. There’s a shortage of aircraft technicians all over the world, and higher salaries alone are not enough to motivate people to switch to another airline. Therefore, the only solution we saw to be able to provide such a large number of technicians in such a short period of time was to train them ourselves. The selection process will be rigorous, because we’re not only looking at applicants as potential students graduating from the Academy; what’s important for us is to see people who can then really work in the aviation industry. People who handle stress well, are punctual, and are willing to learn, read, and follow instructions. All this is very important for them to be able to work and fit in at airBaltic.

Applications are already being accepted. What’s the response so far?

Very good! That’s why I’d recommend applying now and not putting it off until the last minute. Applications are considered on a first-come-first-served basis, and eligible candidates are invited for an interview and tests. If they receive a positive assessment, they’re registered in the selected stream of study. This means that we’re very likely to close the application process earlier than expected if the streams fill up.

How does it feel now that the process has started?

There’s a great sense of satisfaction, but there’s still a huge amount of work to be done, because now it will be important to retain students and motivate them to complete their studies. I’ve felt great team spirit throughout this time. Also when meeting people from other departments, even if it’s meeting them and working together for the first time, everyone is very supportive and tries to help as best they can. Team support here is huge, and it’s a fantastic feeling. There’s also a lot of support for the new Technical Academy amongst our employees, because we all understand how much we need more people working in the Technical Department. I’d say it’s also a socially responsible project, because we’re providing training and also guaranteeing jobs. Moreover, these are skills and qualifications that cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence, at least not in the nearer future; consequently, these specialists are and will remain in demand all over the world. Nor do the studies depend on a person’s financial situation. We’re looking for talented, capable people who are motivated to work in aviation.

5 things that characterise Olga’s day-to-day life

Dynamism: Fast-paced work, a variety of tasks, different locations – I’m on the move all the time, and my days at work pass very quickly.

Flexibility and adaptability: No matter how hard I try to plan my working day, I have to adapt to the reality of the situation, plans have to be revised, priorities have to change. Those aren’t the exceptions; that’s a normal day at work for me. I’m learning to live in the here and now.

Multitasking: The learning process is made up of many different pieces, and these puzzle pieces need to fit together to achieve the goal.

Communication: Several hours in in-person as well as remote meetings, lots of emails and MS Teams chats, plus face-to-face communication – we make use of all kinds of communication channels not only for work issues but also to encourage and support our colleagues. It’s precisely day-to-day communication that helps build a sense of belonging.

The romance of the airfield: My office is in the apron area, and I walk along the airfield several times a day. The view is different every time, but it always inspires me and makes me smile. Whenever a plane takes off, in my thoughts I always wish it a good flight.