203 aviation graduates honored by minister

JEDDAH: The Saudi Academy of Civil Aviation (SACA) celebrated the graduation of 203 students in Jeddah on Wednesday.
The graduates were certified in five disciplines — air traffic control, fire and rescue, aviation systems maintenance, airport safety and air security — in the presences of employees of the academy, as well as the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), which owns the academy and oversees the Kingdom’s civil aviation sector.
Minister of Transportation Sulaiman Al-Hamdan congratulated the students and said that GACA will continue with its privatization programs, part of which is turning the Kingdom’s airports into for-profit corporations.
Hamdan said SACA is a place to empower the Saudi youth to work and operate in the world of aviation and air transportation, thanks to their freshly acquired skills that will guarantee them success and qualify them to join their colleagues in every facet of the world of flying.
“The efforts that you put in and the intensity with which you applied yourselves surely are commendable. Always keep in mind that you are at the beginning of a very long path to professional success. You need more experience and skills, regardless of which sector you end up working in,” he said.
He said that aviation science and technology are two of the most dynamic disciplines, witnessing new developments almost every day. Hence, students must continue to learn and keep up with ever-changing technologies.
Hamdan said privatization programs are in line with the successes seen in the world’s most prominent airports.
He said the civil aviation sector is promising. As such, the authority laid out its own strategic plan to meet what is expected of it within the Saudi Vision 2030.
Fahd Al-Harbi, president of SACA, thanked the minister for sponsoring the graduation ceremony and said this has boosted the graduates’ drive to polish their skills and put their capabilities to maximum use in serving the nation.








“The GACA has always given national manpower and the development of their skills the utmost care, putting them at the forefront of their investments and priorities, because they are its true asset,” said Harbi.
He explained the academy is the fruit of these efforts, and achievements, the academy garnered no less than five global validations, beginning with the ICAO’s renewal of the academy’s membership of the advanced aviation training program.
The academy also was endorsed as an international security training center. IATA approved the academy as a partner and internationally recognized training center, the British International Leadership Management Institute approved the academy as a certified training supplier, “But the academy won’t just stop there; we have even greater ambitions in 2017,” he added.
Harbi said that these global partnerships add credence to the academy’s programs and certificates, enabling it to recruit even more students and civil aviation trainees.
These acclamations are simultaneous with quite a few records the academy had set since it was established as a technical training center. The academy supplied the civil aviation sector with 2,756 graduates with diplomas and high diplomas in air traffic control, fire and rescue, aviation systems maintenance, airport operation and safety, and air security. The academy’s team trained and qualified more than 20,000 employees in advanced, on-the-job courses that aviation personnel and corporations, as well as other support industries, benefited from it.