Commercial Airline Pilots/Captains

Airline pilots don't necessarily need a degree, but they do require a solid foundation of basic skills. This includes having good GCSEs in subjects like maths, English, and science, which are essential for their training. Additionally, proficiency in a second language can also be beneficial.

These skills serve as the building blocks for further training that ensures pilots are well-prepared for safe flying. In today's digital age, it's worth noting that pilots also benefit from strong digital skills, as technology plays an increasingly significant role in modern aviation.

Airline pilots exemplify a range of work-ready attitudes and behaviours:

• The captain of a flight and their co-pilot are accountability for safety, for passengers’ experience, for representing the airline within an airport and to passengers.
• Pilots are the leaders of a large team both on the aeroplane as well as in the ground crew. All the parts of the team know their role, but it’s the pilots’ job to work things out when they go wrong.
• Pilots need to be resilient when anything goes wrong – a mechanical failure, turbulence or bad weather – and lead their team through the difficulties.

Safety is the responsibility of the pilot that underpins all others. It is attention to detail that will determine whether a flight is safe: have all the pre-flight checks been made, are the communications with air traffic control accurate and timely, have the pilots taken notice of any anomalies or irregularities? Being on top of the details is what makes for flight safety.

Another key area that pilots need to bring with them is the ability to solve problems. When things go wrong on a flight, the captain must lead the flight crew in, sorting out the problems, safely and swiftly.

Airline Pilots lie at the centre of a web of processes and systems for the individual airlines for which they work. This includes the procedures for ensuring flights leave and arrive safely, the speedy and safe embarkation and disembarkation of passengers, and the turnaround of a plane between flights.

While much of this depends on the team of airline and ground staff, it is the plane’s captain who will often take responsibility for any delays, or who will need to sort them out.

Airline pilots have to go through some important steps to become fully qualified. They need something called an Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL), which they get from the Commercial Aviation Authority. Plus, they have to prove they're healthy with a Class 1 Medical Certificate.

Before they get their pilot's licence, they go through a lot of training. First, they graduate from flying school with a commercial pilot licence and learn how to fly with instruments. Then, they have to pass a practical skills test and take exams on things like air law, operation procedures, and radio navigation to get their ATPL.

Nowadays, some universities offer degrees that lead to the ATPL and other important qualifications pilots need.