Train-the-Trainer by DataHomeLab
Concept

Core competencies

Core competencies are the finite set of general-purpose pilot capabilities that EBT develops and grades. They are not a manoeuvre catalogue and not a list of historical accident scenarios. They are the underlying technical and non-technical knowledge, skills and attitudes a pilot needs to operate safely, efficiently and effectively when the next event may be one the curriculum did not foresee.

The international baseline is eight competencies published through the ICAO EBT and competency-based training and assessment (CBTA) framework. The adapted set in Train-the-Trainer is nine: the eight ICAO competencies plus KNO, added so applied technical and operational knowledge can be scored as a distinct signal rather than absorbed into Application of Procedures.

Why competencies, not event lists

In a highly reliable aviation system the next safety event is, by construction, often unexpected. A programme built only on historical critical events has little to say about that next event. Mastering a defined set of competencies scales better: the competency catalogue is finite; the event space the competencies can address is open-ended. Scenarios remain useful, but as vehicles for developing and assessing competencies, not as ends in themselves.

Grading against competencies also shifts diagnosis from symptom to root cause. An altitude bust is an outcome; the competency gap that produced it (situation awareness, workload management, application of procedures, or something else) is what remediation must hit. Repeat the manoeuvre without that analysis and you often re-embed the same failure.

EBT collapses the legacy technical / non-technical split. Communication, leadership, decision-making and situation awareness sit in the same graded set as automation management and manual flight path control. The crew does not fly "technical" and "non-technical" separately; the framework should not pretend they do.

The nine competencies (codes)

Codes align with ICAO for Application of Procedures (PRO). Flight path management remains split as FPA and FPM (ICAO AFM-A / AFM-M). Intent matches Doc 9995 throughout.

Code Competency Headline description
PRO Application of Procedures Identifies, applies and confirms procedures relevant to the situation, per published instructions and regulations
COM Communication Effective oral, non-verbal and written communication in normal and non-normal situations
FPA Flight Path Management, Automation (ICAO AFM-A) Controls flight path through automation, including FMS and guidance
FPM Flight Path Management, Manual Control (ICAO AFM-M) Controls flight path through manual flight, including appropriate use of FMS and guidance
KNO Knowledge (extension beyond ICAO eight) Knowledge and understanding of relevant information, operating instructions, aircraft systems and the operating environment
LTW Leadership and Teamwork Effective leadership and team working
PSD Problem Solving and Decision Making Accurately identifies risks and resolves problems; uses appropriate decision-making processes
SAW Situation Awareness Perceives and comprehends relevant available information; anticipates what may affect the operation
WLM Workload Management Manages available resources to prioritise and perform tasks in a timely manner under all circumstances

Each competency is defined further by a set of behavioural indicators (performance indicators / observable behaviours): short, observable actions that evidence the competency. Indicators are the classify anchor in grading; they are not a tick-box checklist that sums to a grade.

KNO: the ninth competency

KNO extends the ICAO baseline. ICAO Doc 9995 and the Doc 9868 aeroplane-pilot framework use eight competencies; operators may adapt and extend the model to local needs. KNO is added so that what the pilot knows can be separated from what the pilot does with procedures (PRO).

A pilot can apply procedures correctly with only surface knowledge of the systems those procedures address; another can have deep knowledge and apply procedures inconsistently. The two fail differently and remediate differently. KNO has seven performance indicators:

  1. Practical knowledge of limitations, systems and their interaction
  2. Required knowledge of published operating instructions
  3. Knowledge of the physical and air traffic environment (routings, weather, airports, infrastructure)
  4. Appropriate knowledge of applicable legislation
  5. Knows where to source required information
  6. Positive interest in acquiring knowledge
  7. Able to apply knowledge effectively

Indicator (g) is load-bearing for EBT: the grade is driven by application demonstrated in the session, not by recitation outside it. Knowledge tests speak to (a)–(f); the simulator conditions (g) and the rest.

Pilots moving from an eight-competency programme arrive without a KNO history; treat that as a data gap to fill by observation, not as a deficit. Pilots leaving a nine-competency system should expect KNO evidence to reabsorb into PRO and PSD elsewhere.

Instructor use

  • Observe to competencies, not only to manoeuvres. When something fails, ask which competency (or combination) is the root cause before prescribing a re-fly.
  • Grade one cell per competency per phase rules, using the word-picture rubric and the evidence-based training competency grading method (VENN) four-dimension lens; record the supporting indicators for grades 1, 2 and 5.
  • Do not use indicators as a checklist. They connect observed behaviour to a competency; they do not aggregate into a grade by count of ticks.
  • Hold the eight vs nine distinction. The eight ICAO competencies are the portable international baseline the regulator audits against; KNO is a pedagogical extension beyond the ICAO eight.
  • Use the evaluation-phase first look to build a competency profile that shapes scenario-based training focus, not only to pass/fail manoeuvres.

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