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OFF THE GROUND AVIATION • STOBART AVIATION SERVICES HAS EXPANDED RAPIDLY AND IT NEEDED A RELIABLE DANGEROUS GOODS TRAINER. IT FOUND ONE IN DG ONLINE TRAINING STOBART AVIATION SERVICES, a provider of ground handling, passenger and airside services, has grown rapidly since its inception in June 2017, with its first contract operating at London Stansted in March 2018 to now operating across a total of five airports, having added London Southend, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports over the last two years. This growth was achieved station-by-station with a blueprint being replicated for operations and training systems. The scale of growth and geographical spread of the business caused the inevitable diversity of suppliers with local project teams managing their own people and utilising internal and external regional training providers. Additionally, acquisitive growth and the transfer of staff meant inheriting existing levels of training from providers. The expansion into Manchester Airport was a prime example when it doubled the size of the business. The complexity of compliance training requirements further increased when Stobart Aviation Services opened its first cargo handling facility at London Southend Airport. This expansion has resulted in significant dangerous goods training challenges, not only with the inevitable escalation in costs and administration but also with the vast array of training providers offering different fees and systems. Classroom closures due to Covid-19 also added an additional issue to this growing company. Dangerous Goods Online Training Ltd, the UK’s only fully CAA-approved online DG training provider, was able to offer Stobart
trained with Dangerous Goods Online Training Ltd for his Category 6 Operator Acceptance and completed the remote examination during lockdown. Gary was so impressed with the depth and challenge of the training as well as the professionalism of the Dangerous Goods Online Training Ltd team, he was keen to roll out the training content and system for other ICAO/IATA categories, specifically 7, 8, 9 and 10. These courses focus on ground and passenger handling staff. TRAINING PAYS OFF “It was refreshing to have a company with a voice at the end of the phone,” says Thistlethwaite. “The courses challenge staff to achieve a higher standard and are not just a tick in the box exercise”. The comprehensive Dangerous Goods Online Training courses have already helped staff spot mis-declared packages by developing trainees’ understanding of the marks and labels on dangerous goods consignments. “Staff are now able to
successfully recognise the meaning of a UN number, which might have slipped the net before.” Equally as important as the training is the dexterity of the learning management system (LMS) used to deliver the courses. Stobart Aviation Services needed an LMS that enabled the management of its dangerous goods training on a national level and was scalable as the business develops. Dangerous Goods Online Training’s LMS enabled Stobart Aviation Services to self-manage training, produce hundreds of customisable reports and break down costs by site, ensuring accurate cost allocation. The system is easy to use and responsive, which is important as changing to a new system can be challenging and a risk. “The speed of response and willingness to adapt both the courses and LMS was a significant value add, the transition to a new system was very smooth,” Thistlethwaite explains. Dangerous Goods Online Training Ltd has recently been appointed as the training provider of choice by other airline ground handling agents. It is pleased to offer HCB readers a 10 percent discount on all of their online training courses using discount code DGOTHCB. For more information, email info@dgonline. training, call +44 (0) 800 649 6799 or visit the company’s website. www.dgonline.training www.stobartaviationservices.co.uk
Aviation Services a solution to their problems. Gary Thistlethwaite, head of Health, Safety & Compliance at Stobart Aviation Services,
A NEW COMPANY IN THE AVIATION ARENA OPTED FOR A NEW SOLUTION TO DG TRAINING
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