Press release: Buckle up for a flying start!

easyJet, Europe’s leading low-fares airline, have partnered with blended learning specialists Epic to develop Buckle up! - a ground-breaking induction programme for all Cabin Crew new entrants. As a successful, expanding airline that offers great prospects for career progression and promotion, easyJet are now poised to offer new starters a unique blended learning experience for their CAA-regulated Cabin Crew induction.

All new starters will need to complete the blended learning course in order to obtain their cabin crew qualification and embark on their exciting career with easyJet. Using a consultative, partnership approach to design and development, easyJet and Epic aim to reduce the existing 4-week face-to-face course, based at the airline’s training Academy, by introducing much of the underpinning knowledge as e-learning. New starters will complete the online course elements and must pass a stringent online assessment prior to attending the Academy.

Barbara Gordon, Cabin Crew Training Manager, explains, “We expect to recruit 750 Cabin Crew in the next 12 months, a big increase on previous years. Not only will we reduce accommodation and training room costs, we’ll also be offering an enhanced, quality e-learning experience. The blended approach promises to be engaging, easy to access and offer measurable results”.

Regulatory requirements stipulate that certain elements of Buckle up! must be delivered face-to-face. These will be supplemented by e-learning covering the theory elements and therefore leaving the face-to-face delivery to explore more complex topics, which necessitate group discussion, collaboration and real-time application.

Challenging targets have been agreed between easyJet and Epic, which will be used to track the effectiveness of the blend, as well as ensuring that key stakeholders such as the CAA are fully engaged, to guarantee successful and timely implementation.

Carys Rowan, Epic’s Account Director for the travel sector, is enthusiastic about the partnership. “We’re delighted to be selected as easyJet’s preferred partner, because this is a fantastic project. We know that cabin crew are great fun to work with and are confident we’ll deliver an award-winning solution.”

The project gives the green light for ‘take off’ for what promises to be a long-term blended learning partnership.