CAE, Jazz and Seneca launch Canadian cadet pilot training program

CAE, Jazz Aviation, and Seneca have teamed up to develop Jazz Approach, an innovative Canadian program to provide Jazz with a pipeline of top-quality first officers. Cadets will receive a letter of employment from Jazz upon selection into the program, allowing for a direct path to join the airline as first officers conditional upon successful completion of the program. The parties involved have signed a five-year partnership agreement and the first cohort is set to begin training in April 2020.

“CAE creates over 1,500 new pilots yearly over 30 cadet training programs globally, and we are thrilled to add a first Canadian cadet pilot training program to our list of curricula,” said Nick Leontidis, CAE’s group president, Civil Aviation Training Solutions. “The demand for pilots has never been so high. With over 300,000 pilots needed globally over the next decade, CAE is working closely with airlines around the world to come up with pilot creation solutions. This program is a one-of-a-kind program, and a great example of how the Canadian aviation industry is working closely together to come up with innovative solutions to face that challenge. We thank Jazz for its trust, we are honored to help expand upon its pipeline of future pilots and we look forward to training them alongside Seneca.”

Jazz Aviation’s pilots have been training in CAE’s network in Canada since 2003. Now, under this new agreement, with its partner Seneca, CAE will be assisting Jazz in the selection, training and certification of new pilots.

“We are very excited to partner with two exceptional Canadian organizations, CAE and Seneca, to introduce the Jazz Approach program,” said Capt Steve Linthwaite, vice-president, Flight Operations for Jazz Aviation. “For Jazz, this innovative initiative will be an expansion of our Jazz Aviation Pathways Program (Jazz APP) and provides yet another avenue for future generations of pilots to launch their careers in aviation. The roots of the Jazz APP program go back to 2007 and the addition of Jazz Approach is an important step in growing the program to yet another level. We have worked with both CAE and Seneca for many years and we are delighted to have the opportunity to join together to introduce this program in Canada.”

“We are thrilled to be partnering with CAE and Jazz Aviation through this innovative all-Canadian collaboration. The Jazz Approach program builds on the success of our partnership with Jazz Aviation and will be an excellent addition to the suite of academic and hands-on training offered within our School of Aviation,” said Lynne McMullen, director of strategic partnerships with Seneca’s School of Aviation. “The Jazz Approach program is another opportunity for Seneca to be on the forefront of flight training in Canada.”

About the Jazz Approach program

CAE, Jazz and Seneca developed the Jazz Approach program in close collaboration, showcasing the latest competency-based training innovations. The Jazz Approach program embeds Jazz Aviation standard operating procedures (SOPs) and threat and error management strategies. Under the terms of this program, CAE will conduct recruitment, assessment and selection of the cadets according to Jazz’s defined criteria. The cadets will undergo the integrated airline transport pilot license (ATPL) training over 18 months at Seneca’s School of Aviation in Peterborough, Ont. Following completion, CAE will provide a CRJ200 type rating at CAE Toronto, leveraging CAE’s innovative training equipment. Upon successful completion of the training program and subject to certain conditions, the first graduates will join Jazz Aviation as first officers by the end of 2021. Applications for the Jazz Approach training program will open on Dec. 1, 2019.