Eligibility for specific type courses
Am I eligible to attend this course?
This is the question all Aircraft Maintenance Engineers should ask themselves prior to attending Specific Type Training Courses.
CASA AME licensing is still receiving a significant number of calls from Aircraft Maintenance Engineers requesting recognition of specific type training course examination/training results, without the person having the basic knowledge prior to attending the Specific Type course.
Specific Type training course results will not be recognised if obtained prior to completion of the "basics" or proven prior basic knowledge. The reason for not granting credits is that, CASA has serious doubts about the ability of persons without appropriate basic knowledge, gaining and retaining the necessary knowledge and understanding of the specific aircraft system they wish to be licensed on.
To avoid disappointment and the expense of attending a course for which you are unable to be credited, we draw your attention to Airworthiness Advisory Circular Part 9-0, titled General AME Licensing Information, para 10. An extract is shown below.
10. Specific Type Training Course Attendance Prerequisites
Aircraft maintenance engineers (AME) wishing to qualify for groups 20, 21 and 22 AME licence ratings must, amongst other requirements, attend and pass approved training courses. Approval of these training courses and their associated examinations is carried out by CASA.
The approval process which CASA uses to process courses and examinations is rigorous. The course subject content and topics must meet those published in the category specific type syllabus, which may be found in either the Mechanical or Avionics Syllabi of Examination.
CASA assesses training courses on the understanding that candidates will hold all of the prerequisite CASA (Note 1 and Note 2) basic knowledge needed to support the issue of a particular licence rating. In this way, systems for a particular aircraft or engine can be taught to students who have a sound understanding of the theory on which the systems are based.
With the exception of overseas courses which have an entry criteria, CASA has not considered it necessary to publish this basic knowledge prerequisite on which specific type courses are approved. CASA has assumed that organisations would not train people if they did not have the theory base on which to build. Unfortunately however, in recent times this has not been the case. A significant number of course attendees and instructors from training organisations have complained to CASA that courses are being slowed by a few unqualified attendees. This causes other areas of the course to be given less coverage to enable the course to be completed on time. Clearly, this situation cannot continue.
In light of the problem now identified, CASA will no longer recognize the results of specific training courses/examinations for AMEs who have not completed the appropriate basic training/examinations. Guidance as to which examinations are necessary can be found in the applicable AAC articles, 91-1 to 95-1, sect 6 table 1.
The reason for not granting credits is that, CASA has serious doubt about the ability of persons without appropriate basic knowledge, gaining and retaining the necessary knowledge and understanding of the specific aircraft system they wish to be licensed on.
Similarly, access to any CASA provided specific type examination will only be available to AMEs who have the appropriate basic knowledge which are required to be held prior to the grant of a specific type license rating.
Note 1: Basic knowledge may be achieved by various means, including:
- Pass all appropriate CASA core and specific group examinations.
- Completion of formal training from a recognised institution (acceptability of this training to be assessed by AME Licensing Section, CASA).
Note 2: Training providers and AME's/LAME's have responsibility for ensuring this requirement is met.
If you do not hold the required basic examination credits, but have completed formal training, a lot of pain and anguish can be avoided by contacting Maintenance Personnel Standards Section GPO Box 2005 Canberra ACT 2601 or by phoning toll free, 131757 during business hours and have your training assessed prior to attending the course.