IATA adds Environmental Sustainability program to its training curriculum

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has launched an environmental sustainability training program together with the University of Geneva (UNIGE). While sustainability has played an important role in the industry for many years, it is a key priority as the sector rebuilds from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a recent survey of more than 800 industry training professionals, sustainability was identified as a top training need, in order to ensure that employees can obtain the necessary fundamental technical and operational skills, but also the required soft skills.

The IATA – UNIGE Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Environmental Sustainability in Aviation consists of six modules covering the following topics:

Design a Sustainability Strategy
Environmental Management Systems in Aviation
Responsible Leadership
Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Corporate Social Responsibility and Organizational Ethics
Carbon Markets and Aviation

The various modules have been designed to illustrate how both individual actions and overall company policies affect sustainability. Participants will learn to identify a set of measures that can be implemented to improve sustainability in the short, medium, and long term. The program also blends the environmental-specific courses with corporate social responsibility, organizational ethics, and responsible leadership, with the aim of allowing participants to find their own answers to what ‘leading responsibly’ means at their individual work and how to engage in responsible decision making and avoid ethical blindness.

“The aviation workforce is highly skilled as it needs to work to and comply with many global and industry standards. Over the years we have been adapting our training offer to meet the changing requirements of the industry. Hence it should come as no surprise that we are now adding environmental sustainability training to our curriculum. Ensuring that all those working in this industry are given the opportunity to acquire these new skillsets is essential, as we increasingly place more emphasis on making our operations more sustainable while rebuilding from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director-General.

IATA selected its long-standing academic partner UNIGE to create the course as this allows for a unique blend of the academic expertise of UNIGE and IATA’s industry knowledge. The social component of the program will educate and prepare future leaders on the responsibility that will contribute to the well-being of the aviation industry and society at large.

The training is offered as individual modules and or a complete package of all six. Courses are delivered through live virtual classrooms, providing real-time interactive instructor-led online learning where participants can communicate, view, and discuss presentations. During the sessions, the participants will also engage with learning resources while working in groups, all in an online setting.

IATA has been offering training for the aviation industry since 1972. Its curriculum covers more than 350 courses which are taken by over 100,000 participants per year. The courses are offered in a variety of formats such as classroom (face-to-face and virtual), online, etc. in conjunction with more than 470 training partners.