A pioneering course starting next month offers young people a route into an aviation career from a facility next to London City Airport (LCA).

International Air and Space Training Institute (IASTI) London City, located at London Design and Engineering University Technical College in Royal Docks, is accepting applications to a new ground operations course - the first of its kind in the UK.

The post-16 course is tailored to a range of specific job roles and students start by getting to grips with key areas within ground operations to discover what job role they want to focus on.

Newham Recorder: The IASTI London City classroom at London Design and Engineering UTC in Royal Docks.The IASTI London City classroom at London Design and Engineering UTC in Royal Docks. (Image: IASTI)

IASTI chief executive Simon Witts said: “Everyone knows what a pilot does, but not everyone recognises the equally important role played by flight dispatchers, re-fuellers and load controllers - to name a few - in making make everything runs smoothly.

“All the areas covered by the course are stimulating, varied and exciting, and each comes with its own challenges and rewards.”

The subject areas contain everything that makes aviation tick behind the scenes, ranging from customer handling and security to aircraft dispatch and meteorology.

Students will learn using the latest equipment, including virtual reality, in a facility overlooking the runway at LCA.

Mr Witts said: “Being co-designed and co-taught by industry professionals means students will walk away with the social skills, practical skills, knowledge and experience demanded by jobs in either commercial or military aviation.

“Much of their training will be applicable across different roles, meaning former students will have flexibility to move around once entering the industry."

Students will aim to finish the 16 to 18 course with three Level 3 qualifications ready to progress to a BSc (Hons) degree in the field or enter the job market.

LCA director of corporate affairs Liam McKay said: “This course is a great opportunity for young east Londoners to develop their skills and gain first-hand insight from operations at London City.

“I believe this experience will help students develop and refine skills that are not only transferrable across the industry, but are also highly sought after and I’d encourage anyone that is interested to apply as soon as possible.”