NBAA’s CAM, PDP Undergoing Detailed Job Analysis

June 2, 2014

Listen to an NBAA Flight Plan on the job-analysis process.

How would you describe your job? If you are or aspire to be an aviation manager, the question has a very detailed answer called a job analysis. At the NBAA Certified Aviation Manager (CAM) Governing Board meeting this month, the highly detailed CAM job analysis will begin the revision process that will lead to new educational and testing criteria in the near future.

Think of the job analysis as a detailed job description for flight department leaders, said Jay Evans, NBAA’s director of professional development. “It’s a compendium of the things you need to know to run a flight department. It’s also something flight department managers need to know to remain current on new issues and innovations that come down the path.”

The CAM program is divided into five domains: leadership, human resources, operations, technical and facility services and business management. The job-analysis function covers each of these areas. It also applies to the NBAA Professional Development Program (PDP).

“A comprehensive review is already underway,” said Sarah Wolf, NBAA’s manager of professional development. “The job analysis process allows us to adjust our educational criteria to best suit the needs of the business aviation industry.”

In this job-analysis review process, which NBAA conducts every five to seven years, PDP and CAM educational materials are examined for timeliness and relevance. New material could be added based on technology and innovation.

“For example, take the advent of safety management systems (SMS),” Evans said. “When the PDP and CAM programs were just starting, the SMS concept was very new and not very well-known. But in between job analyses, they became a very important part of flight department operations around the world. Through the job analysis process, SMS became critical in CAM and PDP course offerings and testing.”

Those educational and testing criteria are formulated in a process that includes the use of focus groups and NBAA Member surveys to ensure the most valuable aspects of aviation management requirements are included in the Association’s offerings. Wolf said the materials that result from the job analysis- process are vital to all aspects of the industry – employees and managers alike.

“It’s important for both Members and associates to know what’s involved in everyone else’s job description,” she said. “For instance, if a small flight department sends an aircraft to a particular FBO, it’s important for the folks at the FBO to correctly anticipate the needs of both the crew and the aircraft. FBO managers and employees can do that by becoming familiar with the flight department’s duties that are part of the CAM program job analysis, making it a win for everybody.”