Types of career

British Gliding Association

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Admin

Administrator

Administrator

Job Title
Administrator

Function
Provide support and services to others

Brief Description
Ensuring accurate and timely services and information exchange within a small team.

Key Skills

  • Use of IT
  • Soft skills re interacting with people
  • Communication skills

Entry Routes

  • School education including good grasp of English language, basic maths and office IT.
  • Demonstrate interest through understanding how the club administers itself and offering to help support existing incumbents.
  • Demonstrate necessary skills to the employer or club.

Day in the Life
Self-managed and varied workload dealing with a mix of online processes, responses to queries and team solutions to problem solving.

Fun Fact
Admin is a vital part of all organisations and the acquired skills are transferrable to most careers!

Accounts Manager

Accounts Manager

Job Title
Accounts Manager

Function
Lead accounts and financial management

Brief Description
Maintain management accounts and compliance with processes..

Key Skills

  • Numeracy
  • Book keeping experience
  • Use of IT

Entry Routes

  • School education including good grasp of English language, basic maths and office IT.
  • Demonstrate interest through understanding how the club operates its finances and offering to help support existing incumbents.
  • Demonstrate necessary exp + skills to the employer or club.

Day in the Life

  • Monitor processes
  • Ensure club member compliance
  • Engage as required with the club management committee

Fun Fact
For some people, numbers are fun!

Chief Executive Officer

Chief Executive Officer

Job Title
Chief Executive Officer

Function
Lead an air sport organisation

Brief Description
Responsible to the board for the effective delivery of all aspects of the organisation.

Key Skills

  • Use of IT
  • Soft skills re interacting with people
  • Communication skills
  • Awareness of all delivery aspects of the organisation
  • Awareness of member needs

Entry Routes

  • School education including good grasp of English language, basic maths and office IT.
  • Gain relevant professional exp
  • Demonstrate interest by getting involved in areas of work that will improve your own knowledge and experience and be attractive to and add value to the organisation.
  • Demonstrate necessary exp + skills to the employer.

Day in the Life
Self-managed and varied workload dealing with a mix of inputs, responses to queries and team solutions to problem solving.

  • Interacting with volunteers
  • Progressing project work.
  • Finding time to develop great ideas!
  • Interacting with external stakeholders
  • Accountable manager duties

Fun Fact
You don’t necessarily need a degree to lead an organisation.

Engineers & Maintenance

Club Engineer

Club engineer

Job Title
Club engineer

Function
Maintenance of club aircraft

Brief Description
Manage the maintenance of club aircraft to ensure compliance and availability

Key Skills

  • Organisation
  • Use of IT
  • Soft skills re interacting with people

Entry Routes

  • Join a gliding club
  • Demonstrate interest. Anyone can offer to help. The basics can be found here, and anyone can attend a Pilot/Owner seminar
  • Demonstrate necessary skills to the employer or club.

Day in the Life

  • Assessment of aircraft maintenance programme and progress
  • Ensure qualified people available
  • Ensure parts and equipment available

Fun Fact
You don’t need to be an engineer to manage maintenance!

Maintenance inspector

Maintenance inspector

Job Title
Maintenance inspector

Function
Certify maintenance on sailplanes

Brief Description
Provides qualified and authorised certification ie ‘release to service’ of sailplanes following maintenance.

Key Skills

  • Knowledge of published maintenance requirements.
  • Human factors awareness.
  • Sailplane maintenance experience
    Note for Part21 Sailplane certification, a Part66L licence is also required.

Entry Routes

  • Demonstrate interest by getting involved in areas of maintenance that will improve your own knowledge and experience. Study published information
  • Demonstrate the necessary knowledge, skills and experience to the BGA Chief Technical Officer.

Day in the Life
Either advising individuals carrying out pilot/owner maintenance or inspecting and certifying their own maintenance work or that of others who they are supervising.

Fun Fact
Its hugely satisfying to help an owner safely return their aircraft to the air!

Chief engineer

Chief engineer

Job Title
Chief engineer

Function
Manage a Combined Airworthiness Organisation

Brief Description
Oversee delivery of airworthiness support to a large number of aircraft owners and advise approved staff, engage with external stakeholders, inform as well as deliver strategy.

Key Skills

  • Aircraft engineering experience
  • Use of IT
  • Soft skills re interacting with people
  • Communication skills

Entry Routes

  • School education including good grasp of English language, basic maths and office IT.
  • Become a maintenance inspector
  • Demonstrate interest by developing a wide range of maintenance and management experience and ensuring the club or organisation is aware of that through your contributions as an airworthiness inspector.
  • Demonstrate necessary skills to the employer or club.

Day in the Life
Self-managed and varied workload dealing with a mix of online inputs, responses to queries and team solutions to problem solving.

  • Progressing project work.
  • Finding time to develop great ideas!

Fun Fact
Its amazing how new problems that need solving emerge from owners, manufacturers and of course regulators!

Instructors

Chief Flying Instructor

Chief Flying Instructor

Job Title
Chief Flying Instructor

Function
Lead fying and training standards

Brief Description

  • Manage and promote high standards of training and other flying by club pilots.
  • Identify and encourage potential new instructors.
  • Arrange appropriate training courses.
  • Counsel pilots on improvement and pilot development opportunities.
  • Actively monitor supervision and other operational risk management activity.
  • Support student pilots.

Key Skills

  • Organisation
  • Use of IT
  • Soft skills re interacting with people
  • Gliding instructor
  • Gliding supervisor

Entry Routes

  • Join a gliding club.
  • Become a gliding instructor.
  • Demonstrate interest. Once qualified as a glider pilot, add qualifications that interest you, including ‘Flight Instructor Coach’ – a starting point is to attend an FIC seminar. Express interest in helping the current CFI.
  • Demonstrate the necessary skills to the employer or club.

Day in the Life

  • Attend daily briefing
  • Engage with training that needs input
  • Engage with instructors
  • Engage with student pilots

Fun Fact
CFIs get to influence the well being of all the club pilots! It’s a job that really makes a difference.

Gliding Instructor

Gliding Instructor

Job Title
Gliding Instructor

Function
Deliver gliding instruction

Brief Description
Provide ground training and flight instruction to club student pilots

Key Skills

  • Soft skills re interacting with people
  • Experience as a glider pilot
  • Completed instructor training
  • Patience!

Entry Routes

  • Join a gliding club.
  • Demonstrate interest. Once qualified as a glider pilot, become a BGA ‘Introductory Flight Pilot’ by completing the one-day course. Ask your CFI who can make the arrangements.
  • Demonstrate necessary exp + skills during the training course and post course assessment.

Day in the Life

  • Attend daily briefing
  • Engage with training that needs input
  • Do as much flying as necessary!

Fun Fact
Helping student pilots to learn is very rewarding. Sending someone on their first solo flight is incredibly so!