Exam board: Pearson
The Pearson BTEC Level 3 in Aviation Operations, from the 2010 suite, built and co-delivered with Aviation Generation. It is about how aviation actually runs.
The single award, the Subsidiary Diploma, is the size of one A level and sits alongside two other subjects. The Extended Diploma is the size of three A levels and is a whole programme on its own. There is no double award.
This course is about operations: how aircraft get where they are going, on time, safely and legally. Flight planning and dispatch, air traffic, ground handling and turnaround, airport and airline management, safety, regulation and human factors. It is the side of the industry that keeps everything moving, and it is where most of the jobs are.
We do not teach it on our own. The course is designed and co-delivered with Aviation Generation, a national aviation education body. They build the pathway around the qualification: professional standards, an individual aviation plan for every student, tutors with industry experience, and an industry certificate alongside the qualification. We are their first partner college outside London.
We are working with EmPower Crew on a route into the UK cabin crew attestation for students who want it once they turn 18.
Students train on a Piper Warrior simulator and a fuselage cabin trainer on campus.
Aviation is one of the most connected industries in the world and it is short of people. This course goes beyond the theory to how aviation operates in practice: safety, operations and decision making under pressure. It develops the critical thinking, communication and professional behaviour that employers and universities look for.
Students with an interest in aviation, engineering or how large systems work, who want to understand the industry rather than read about it. It suits people who enjoy practical learning, problem solving and working in a team. No prior aviation knowledge is needed, just curiosity, commitment and a willingness to work at a professional level.
Industry speakers from major airlines come in during the course. The programme is built to bridge the gap between college and industry.
Business, geography, physics, mathematics, engineering and IT
Assessed through coursework and practical assignments, with no written exams.