New air traffic controller validated
New air traffic controller Derrin Brandon (centre) flanked by CIAA officials (L-R) Mario Ebanks and Erick Bodden
(CNS Local Life): Following on from a course at the Civil Aviation Authority Training Institute in Trinidad and Tobago and on-the-job training with the Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA), Derrin Brandon has been validated as an air traffic controller (ATC). He started working at the CIAA when he was 18 years old, where he learned the ropes from a team of qualified ATCs.
Brandon initially aspired to a career in the maritime industry but after working as a ground handler at the Owen Roberts International Airport he decided to switch gears to aviation.
In 2014, as an ATC assistant, he started an intensive seven-month course on aerodrome and approach procedural control at the training institute, completing it in May 2015. The next step was months of on-the-job training until he became an official ATC at the end of October 2016.
“We are very proud to have Derrin as part of our team,” said CIAA ATC manager Erick Bodden. “When he joined the Airports Authority it was clear that he was a very dedicated young man and he was willing to do all the hard work that was required to reach this level.”
Mario Ebanks, CIAA chief human resources officer, added, “Developing young Caymanian talent like Derrin, is part of one of the CIAA’s goals and is consistent with our mission and vision. Succession planning, especially at a critical pillar to Cayman’s economy such as the Airports Authority, is of strategic importance to our shared future as a world-class destination and business centre.
“On behalf of all of his colleagues I commend Derrin on his achievement and wish him and others in the CIAA good luck as they continue to avail themselves of opportunities to develop their talent and careers.”
Category: Airport
It tickles me that just about every training programme these days is described as ‘intensive’ or ‘rigorous’ accompanied by press releases. Why are we always trying to portray them for more than they are which is simply a training programme. I served a four year naval apprenticeship, it was never described other than an apprenticeship. What is more important is how the student takes this knowledge and applies it to his chosen career.