Assessment Day Preparation Info
How to prepare
Mainly our assessment event is for Airline Cadet Program and Modular Program will under go interview and consult before commencement of training.
Before any assessment event ensure that you are clear on what to expect from assessment day. Read your invitation email carefully so that you know where you need to be and what time you are expected to arrive. Prepare all the administration that you are required to bring with you on the day, including copies as necessary.
It is important that you consider the activities that you will be required to complete during your assessment event and think through how to best prepare. For the non-technical elements seek feedback from those that you interact with about how effective you are within a team setting. Try to anticipate what it is you bring to a group environment and what areas you could look to develop.
Prepare for your maths test by practicing and improving your speed and accuracy of mental calculations. This can easily be achieved by using a revision guide and using a stop watch to apply time pressure.
Whilst the aptitude test looks to grade your natural aptitude, many of the tests will require use of a joystick. Some applicants find it useful to practice using a joystick before they come to their assessment event and maybe use a flight simulator game. Others have been known to undertake trial flights to help them understand the demands on your capacity when flying.
Finally, people find is useful to prepare for their interview by considering different experiences or situations they have been in, which demonstrates their skills across the areas outlined in the interview section of this booklet. Please do not fall in to the trap of preparing “model” responses as this can often backfire because applicants may not answer the questions being asked. Make sure that you listen to the questions and respond with recent and relevant examples.
It is fair to say that CAFS’s selection process will challenge you but our experienced assessment team will make you feel at ease and create an environment that allows you to relax and be yourself. It is important that we get to see the real you on these events and our team are here to support you through the process and facilitate the day.
The best luck of all if the luck you make for yourself – Douglas Macarthur
Purpose of Assessment
The CAFS assessment process for aspiring pilots is designed to give you, the applicant, an opportunity to showcase the breadth of technical and non-technical skills you possess. Through a series of tried and tested exercises, CAFS’s selection process will provide the selection team with a clear, all-round picture of your abilities and potential to become an Professional pilot.
Selection Standard
CAFS’s selection process is non-competitive in most cases. This means that you will be assessed against a required CAFS or airline standard and not directly against others who are participating in the assessment event. CAFS sets a high standard in order to ensure we provide the best possible cadets to our partner and client airlines. If you are well prepared for the assessment day and clear on what to expect, we advise that you simply relax, be yourself and do your best.
Prepare Interview
To be successfully selected for the Airline Cadet Programme and Modular Program to become a professional pilot you must first complete a comprehensive selection process which will include assessment events with both CAFS Aviation and Airline.
Far too many candidates come along to interviews without having fully prepared. It sounds basic, but it’s vital to demonstrate just how keen you are. Make sure you have read up on what’s going on in the airline industry today, stay up to date with your dream airlines news by visiting website, read up on CAFS by visiting our website and talk to pilots and cabin crew to ensure you fully understand what the job is all about.
The internet is a great source of information and will tell you pretty much everything these days, but there is no real replacement for talking to people in the industry and learning from their personal experiences.
Allow plenty of time for your journey. There’s nothing worse than that feeling of pressure when you get caught in unexpected traffic and find you are late for your interview. Remember, first impressions count for such a lot in our world today, but also ‘on time performance’ is crucial in our industry. Turning up early and giving yourself time to relax will put you in good stead for the day ahead. If you live a long way away, we can help you find some accommodation to stay in locally overnight to ensure you get a good night’s rest.
You’ll need to bring along your certificates to prove your qualifications and also your passport and passport photographs, so maybe now is a good time to gather those together. It’s amazing how hard it is to find exam certificates at the last minute and you may need to get copies from the exam board if yours have gone missing.
Having completed your assessment day with us, it may take us a few days to contact you with the results whilst we complete the Airline Cadet Program assessment days. However, rest assured we will get back to you as soon as we can.
What next?
Having completed the full Airline Cadet Program, Our partner airline will be in touch to let you know the outcome. Again, if you do not meet the Airline Cadet Program criteria at this point, you may opt to join CAFS Modular Program and start your training which could provide an opportunity with Airline in the future or one of our other partner airlines .
Thinking positively, you are successful! If Airline decides not to take your application further after their assessment day, they will return you to the care of CAFS. We will review your selection file and, subject to you having consistently achieved the CAFS entry standard, we may offer you a place on a future course subject to you being able to provide the necessary funding. CAFS Modular courses start every month, so you could be taking off before you know it. and even potentially still flying for partner airlines in the future because of CAFS’s unique arrangement which enables CAFS graduates to be eligible to join Airline should BA have an additional cadet pilot requirement.