ASG has completed the development and delivery of a bespoke SAR Aviation Tasking and Co-ordination training programme for HM Coastguard in the United Kingdom, following its appointment by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency to provide specialist aviation training for personnel working within the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre’s aeronautical rescue function.
The contract was awarded by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, an executive agency of the UK Department for Transport, for the development, localisation and delivery of a programme tailored to HM Coastguard / JRCC-AR requirements. We are proud to once again demonstrate that ASG’s specialist aviation training capability is increasingly being recognised internationally by national government organisations, in addition to airlines, military organisations and individual aviation professionals.
Selected to develop training specifically for the UK Coastguard environment
HM Coastguard required a programme adapted specifically to the UK search and rescue system, its regulatory and operational framework, the role of JRCC-AR, UK aviation assets, UK airspace and documentation, and the practical requirements of personnel involved in aviation tasking and coordination.
ASG was therefore contracted to undertake a substantial course-development and localisation project before delivering the programme on site in the UK.
The work included the development of UK-specific instructional material, student manuals, exercises, examinations and operational scenarios, together with the adaptation of the course structure to the needs and experience of the intended HM Coastguard audience.
A significant endorsement of ASG’s specialist capability
The decision by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency to procure the programme from ASG represents an important endorsement of the company’s specialist training capability.
ASG had already developed considerable expertise through its work with the Irish Coast Guard, including the delivery of SAR Aviation Tasking and Co-ordination training to more than 150 personnel.
The new project took that expertise into a different national operating environment. ASG worked with HM Coastguard personnel to re-engineer the course around UK requirements while retaining the underlying aviation-training principles that had already been proven through operational delivery.
A milestone for an Irish aviation training organisation
ASG Founder Diarmuid O’Riordan said:
“Being approached by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency and subsequently selected to develop and deliver a bespoke aviation training programme for HM Coastguard is an important milestone for ASG. It is a strong endorsement of the expertise that our team has developed over many years and of the reputation ASG has built for operationally credible aviation training.”
Government, airline and professional pilot training
The HM Coastguard project also reflects the breadth of ASG’s current activities.
The company now delivers aviation training across three principal areas:
- Government and public-sector organisations, including coastguard, military and operational aviation customers;
- Airlines and commercial operators, including specialist theoretical knowledge, flight operations and dispatch training; and
- Professional and aspiring pilots, including ATPL theoretical knowledge and career-focused aviation education.
This combination allows ASG to draw on expertise from across airline, military, SAR and general aviation environments.
A further step in ASG’s international development
O’Riordan concluded:
“We are extremely proud that a UK government organisation chose ASG for this project.
For us, it is validation that the quality of our training, our instructors and our development capability is being recognised well beyond Ireland.
Whether the customer is an airline, a national government organisation or an individual pilot, the principle remains the same: credible aviation training delivered by people who understand the operational environment”
ASG is an EASA Approved Training Organisation providing aviation training and consultancy services to airlines, government organisations, aviation professionals and student pilots.
