Sofema Online Considers Key Updates to Structured OJT for Part 66 First Type License – Understanding Regulation (EU) 2023/989

Sofema Online (SOL)?www.sofemaonline.com?considers the update and changes to Structured OJT related to Part 66 Fist Type License

Reference - Appendix III Aircraft type training and type evaluation standard – on-the-job training (OJT)? - Section 6. On-the-job training (OJT) Regulation (EU) 2023/989.

6.1 General

The OJT is the training that the applicant is given on a particular aircraft type in a real workplace, having the possibility to learn maintenance best practices and correct release-to-service procedures. The OJT shall comply with the following requirements:

(a) The list of the OJT tasks and programme shall be accepted by the competent authority which has issued the maintenance licence before starting the OJT training.

(b) The OJT shall be conducted at one or more maintenance organisations appropriately approved according to this Regulation for the maintenance of that aircraft type. One of those organisations shall control the OJT.

(c) The applicant shall have a category A, B or L5 licence before undergoing the OJT or have finished the theoretical type training and cumulated at least 50 % of the basic experience requirement (point 66.A.30) as regards the category of aircraft he or she is trained for.

(d) The applicant shall start and complete the OJT within three years preceding the application for the first type rating endorsement. At least 50 % of the OJT tasks shall take place after the related aircraft theoretical type training has been completed.

(e) The applicant shall undergo the OJT under the mentorship of a qualified mentor or mentors, on a one-to-one supervision basis, during which the mentors verify the technical knowledge, the skills, and responsibilities of a typical certifying staff. During the OJT, the mentors transmit also knowledge and experience to the applicant, providing the necessary advice, support, and guidance.

(f) Each task shall be signed off by the applicant and refer to an actual job card/work sheet, etc. The mentors shall verify and countersign off the tasks performed during the OJT, because they shall assume the responsibility for the tasks at support staff or certifying staff level, as applicable, depending on the release-to-service procedure.

(g) At the satisfactory completion of the OJT programme, the mentors shall issue a recommendation for the final assessment of the applicant to be conducted by designated assessors.

6.2 OJT content and OJT logbook

The OJT shall include a series of activities and tasks representative of the aircraft type rating, systems, and licence category applied for and may cover more than one licence category.

The OJT shall be documented in an OJT logbook reporting the following:

(a) name of the applicant;

(b) date of birth of the applicant;

(c) the approved maintenance organisation(s) where the OJT was carried out;

(d) aircraft rating and licence categories applied for;

(e) list of tasks, including:

(i) task description;

(ii) reference to job card/work order/aircraft tech log, etc.;

(iii) location of task completion;

(iv) date of task completion;

(v) aircraft registration(s).

(f) names of the mentors (including licence number, if applicable);

(g) a signed recommendation of the mentors for the successive final assessment of the applicant.

6.3 Final assessment of the applicant

The final assessment of the applicant may only be performed once the OJT logbook has been completed and the mentors have signed the related recommendation.

The designated assessor(s) conducting the final assessment shall notify the date of the assessment to the licensing authority well in advance to allow a possible participation of the same authority.

The objective of the final assessment is to verify that the applicant has sufficient technical knowledge as well as the appropriate skills and attitude and that he or she is competent to work independently as type-rated certifying staff on a particular aircraft type.

The final assessment shall have a minimum duration of one working day.

The assessment shall sample:

(1) the general technical knowledge required for the particular licence category;

(2) the aircraft-type-specific knowledge and skills for the particular licence category;

(3) the understanding of the licence privileges relevant to the aircraft and to the licence category;

(4) the appropriate behaviour and safety attitude of the applicant in relation to the maintenance environment.

(b) The assessment shall be recorded in a report containing the following information:

(1) identification data of the applicant;

(2) identification data of the assessor(s);

(3) date and time frame of the assessment;

(4) content of the assessment;

(5) result of the assessment: Passed or Failed.

(6) signature of the assessor(s), the candidate and, if applicable, the independent observer(s).

(c) A failed assessment?may be retaken after three months or, if additional training has been received and a new recommendation by the mentors has been made, earlier than 3 months if agreed by the assessor(s). After three failed attempts, the complete OJT shall be repeated.

6.4 Requirements for mentors and assessors

Mentors and assessors are maintenance staff with the following qualifications:

(i) Mentors:

? hold a valid aircraft maintenance licence (AML) issued in accordance with this Annex or a valid and fully compliant with ICAO Annex 1 AML in accordance with Appendix IV to Annex II (Part-145), which is acceptable to the competent authority;

? have been holding, for at least one year, an AML in the same category, when compared to the one for which the OJT is being mentored, that is endorsed with a type rating appropriate to exercise the privileges on the related aircraft;

? have the necessary release or sign-off privileges in the maintenance organisation where the OJT is performed;

? have experience in training other people (such as being apprenticeship instructors, instructors in accordance with Annex IV (Part-147), having received train-the-trainer courses or having any other comparable national qualification, or having training to do so that is acceptable to the competent authority).

(ii) Assessors of the final assessment:

? hold a valid AML issued in accordance with this Annex or a valid and fully compliant with ICAO Annex 1 AML in accordance with Appendix IV to Annex II (Part-145), which is acceptable to the competent authority;

? have been holding, for at least three years, an AML in the same category, when compared to the one for which the OJT is being assessed, endorsed with the same or similar aircraft type rating;

? have experience and/or have received training in assessing others (such as being apprenticeship instructors, examiners in accordance with Annex IV (Part-147), having received train-the-trainer courses, or having any other comparable national qualification, or having training to do so that is acceptable to the competent authority);

? shall not have been involved as a mentor of the applicant in the OJT; when the assessor has taken part in the OJT performance, then an independent observer shall be present during the OJT assessment.

6.5 OJT documentation and records

The satisfactory accomplishment of the OJT shall be attested to the applicant with the final assessment report and the OJT logbook.

The OJT documentation shall be provided to the competent authority to support the application for the issue or change of the licence as laid down in Section B, Subpart B, of this Annex.

Records of the OJT documentation shall be kept by the maintenance organisation where the OJT is conducted, in accordance with the procedures agreed with the competent authority of the maintenance organisation.

Next Steps

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