Written by: The Proficient Airman, Mubashar Yasin.

Attending an Instagram LIVE at 8pm – British Airways Recruitment Team.

I recently attended an Instagram LIVE by the British Airways recruitment team and training cadets. The purpose of this session was to provide an informal opportunity for aspiring pilots to ask questions to BA on their recruitment process, the competencies they are looking for and anything that will help applications to become a pilot.

This was not only restricted to aspiring pilots! It was also an opportunity for those that are looking to apply to their apprenticeship or student ambassador programme. If you’re looking to become a pilot – these programmes and apprenticeships are fantastic. These will give you the edge against other candidates who may not have had a direct interaction with the airline before!

I had the opportunity to be able to ask questions to the BA recruitment team as well as cadets in training – for example, Pilot lilya who I have stumbled across on social media. It was great to hear her training was going well. I also received some great insight into what to keep in mind when beginning training and some tips to ensure my modular training goes smoothly as and when I do begin it.

I believe it’s important to be pro-active and network with others. There’s always something to learn by speaking to others. And attending an Instagram live at 8pm was no different!

 Resources available by British Airways

Based on the interaction I had with the recruitment team – I noted a few resources and opportunities available to those looking to get more involved with British Airways.

BA Inspire Programme

BA Inspire Programme is aimed at full-time students. This offers students the opportunity to work experience with BA and working across many departments. BA will require your CV (and/or a cover letter) emailed to [email protected]. Remember, there is A LOT of competition for this – so look out for these and put an application in as soon as they are available.

Or be pro-active and speak to the recruitment team at careers events – try to secure a bespoke work experience just for you! This programme aims to inspire the next generation to give them a taste of work in the aviation industry. This is a great opportunity to help you develop your soft skills and teach you to become a leader. So I’m sure BA are happy to help where they can!

Speedbird-Z

This is a student-dedicated website run by British Airways. This website allows you to complete e-learning modules, such as:

• Employability
• Confidence and well-being
• Discover – the different functions at BA
• Work experience at BA

There are also job opportunities available on the British Airways website. Such as work experience, graduate and apprenticeship programmes. These opportunities become available on the Speedbird-Z website first. So sign up and keep an eye out!

Mentor programme

This is a resource I have tested and tried before tuning into the Instagram live. I have to say this is a fantastic resource and has helped me a lot. I would highly recommend those looking to become pilots to utilise this. Again this is also available on the Speedbird-Z website. Mentors from different divisions of BA are available and happy to help.

These mentors include:

• Captains
• First Officers
• Maintenance engineers
• Aircraft mechanic
• Finance graduates
• And more…

As you can see from the above snapshot of some of the BA mentors – I’m already talking to the Senior First Officer and Captain for the Boeing 777. But there are plenty of mentors to choose from based on your career aspirations and what intrigues you!

The mentor programme gives you not only a great insight into the day in a life of a BA pilot. But also a great insight into the journey of BA pilots through their training as well as challenges they faced and invaluable advice they have for you.

Being part of mentoring programmes like this one will really help shape you to becoming an excellent pilot. There will be certain nuggets of advice you take on-board and implement later in training – or certain mistakes you avoid. As a pilot, there is always something to learn and re-learn! So get out there and seize opportunities like these!

This mentoring programme is also important because it helps you stand-out against others in airline interviews. Having being part of such mentoring helps demonstrate your passionate and tenacity against those who may not have taken the opportunity to be pro-active and reach out to pilots and cadets.

I hope these resources go onto help you. Happy contrails!