UK CAA Specialist Argues Instructor Standardisation Should Target Outputs, Not Scripts

In a preview of her session at the European Aviation Training Summit, Helen Heenan, a personnel licensing policy specialist at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, makes the case for rethinking how instructors are standardised. She moved from CRM training into advanced study of human factors in aviation and holds a master's degree in the subject. Her central argument is that training programmes typically standardise inputs, such as scripts and lesson plans, when they should standardise outputs. If explicit, well-designed learning objectives are set, trainees can reach consistent, measurable results regardless of an individual instructor's style. She identifies a recurring gap: training materials are frequently built without a clearly defined purpose, with no sharp answer to what exactly a session is meant to achieve. The ideas bear directly on instructor calibration and assessment consistency in competency-based training. Heenan will speak in the ATO track at EATS, which runs from November 3 to 5 in Cascais, Portugal.