AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a) Composition of initial training

GENERAL

1.         Structure of the basic and rating training syllabi

(a)       The basic and rating training syllabi have been structured as follows:

(1)       The syllabus is divided into subjects, which are divided into topics that are in turn divided into subtopics. This structure serves the definition and classification of the objectives. There can be one or several objectives linked to each subtopic.

(2)       Objectives are assigned to a specific subject which deals with the knowledge and skills needed to accomplish the related subject objective.

(3)       Subjects, topics and subtopics are contained in Appendices 2 to 8 to Annex I to Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/340, and are repeated in:

—             AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a)(1) Composition of initial training — BASIC TRAINING — SUBJECT OBJECTIVES AND TRAINING OBJECTIVES;

—             AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a)(2)(i) Composition of initial training — AERODROME CONTROL VISUAL RATING (ADV) TRAINING — SUBJECT OBJECTIVES AND TRAINING OBJECTIVES;

—             AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a)(2)(ii) Composition of initial training — AERODROME CONTROL INSTRUMENT RATING FOR TOWER ADI (TWR) TRAINING — SUBJECT OBJECTIVES AND TRAINING OBJECTIVES;

—             AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a)(2)(iii) Composition of initial training — APPROACH CONTROL PROCEDURAL RATING (APP) TRAINING — SUBJECT OBJECTIVES AND TRAINING OBJECTIVES;

—             AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a)(2)(iv) Composition of initial training — AREA CONTROL PROCEDURAL RATING (ACP) TRAINING — SUBJECT OBJECTIVES AND TRAINING OBJECTIVES;

—             AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a)(2)(v) Composition of initial training — APPROACH CONTROL SURVEILLANCE RATING (APS) TRAINING — SUBJECT OBJECTIVES AND TRAINING OBJECTIVES

—             AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a)(2)(vi) Composition of initial training — AREA CONTROL SURVEILLANCE RATING (ACS) TRAINING — SUBJECT OBJECTIVES AND TRAINING OBJECTIVES

in order to provide the reader with a comprehensive and unique reference document for the basic and each of the rating trainings. Subject objectives and training objectives are included in and form an integral part of each of the aforementioned AMC.

Figure 1: Layout of the syllabus

[applicable until 3 August 2024 - ED Decision 2019/023/R]

GENERAL

1.         Structure of the basic and rating training syllabi

(a)       The basic and rating training syllabi are structured as follows:

(1)       The syllabus is divided into subjects, which are divided into topics that are in turn divided into subtopics. This structure serves the definition and classification of the objectives. There can be one or several objectives linked to each subtopic.

(2)       Objectives are assigned to a specific topic/subtopic which deals with the knowledge and skills needed to accomplish the related subject.

(3)       Subjects, topics and subtopics are contained in Appendices 2 to 7 to Annex I to Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/340, and are repeated in:

—             AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a)(1) Composition of initial training — BASIC TRAINING — TRAINING OBJECTIVES;

—                          AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a)(2)(i) Composition of initial training — AERODROME CONTROL RATING (ADC) TRAINING — TRAINING OBJECTIVES;

—                          AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a)(2)(ii) Composition of initial training — APPROACH CONTROL PROCEDURAL RATING (APP) TRAINING — TRAINING OBJECTIVES;

—                          AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a)(2)(iii) Composition of initial training — AREA CONTROL PROCEDURAL RATING (ACP) TRAINING — TRAINING OBJECTIVES;

—                          AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a)(2)(iv) Composition of initial training — APPROACH CONTROL SURVEILLANCE RATING (APS) TRAINING — TRAINING OBJECTIVES

—                          AMC1 ATCO.D.010(a)(2)(v) Composition of initial training — AREA CONTROL SURVEILLANCE RATING (ACS) TRAINING — TRAINING OBJECTIVES

in order to provide the reader with a comprehensive and unique reference document for the basic and each of the rating training courses. Training objectives are included in, and form an integral part of, each of the aforementioned AMC.

Figure 1: Layout of the syllabus

[applicable from 4 August 2024 - ED Decision 2023/011/R]

(b)       The following principles may be applied to the development of a training course that is based on any of the syllabi:

(1)       The structure of the syllabi and the order of the objectives contained therein is neither intended to convey a pedagogical sequence nor to indicate a relative level of importance.

(2)       No objective from the basic training syllabus is repeated as ‘a refresher’ in the rating training syllabi.

(3)       The number of objectives contained within a subtopic does not necessarily signify how long it should take to teach that subtopic. For example, a subtopic containing five relatively straightforward objectives may take a shorter time to be taught than another subtopic containing two complex objectives.

2.         Structure of the objectives

(a)       An objective consists of three elements:

(1)       The corpus, which is a description of the required performance. It always contains an action verb to ensure that the outcome is observable. The action verb is always associated with a defined taxonomy.

(2)       The level, which indicates numerically the taxonomy of the action verb.

(3)       The content, which may be implicit or explicit. The explicit content is written in the content field, while the implicit content is not but, instead, is implied in the corpus of the objective and other elements (syllabus, subject, etc.). Content that is a required part of the objective is written in the red-shaded field. Optional content, written in italics, may be used if considered appropriate.

Figure 2: Layout of an objective

[applicable until 3 August 2024 - ED Decision 2019/023/R]

(3)       The content, which may be implicit or explicit. Explicit content is written in the content field, while implicit content is not but, instead, is implied in the corpus of the objective and other elements (syllabus, subject, etc.). Content that is a required part of the objective is written in the red-shaded field. Optional content, written in italics is provided to help training designers develop their training material and may suggest possible reference documents that could be used and/or elaborate on the content with specific examples. With or without explicit content, the objective needs to be covered since the implementation is implied in its corpus (text of the objective) and associated context (Subtopic/Topic/Subject/ Rating).

Figure 2: Layout of an objective

[applicable from 4 August 2024 - ED Decision 2023/011/R]

3.         Repeated and common objectives

(a)       Repeated and common objectives are only applicable to rating training.

(b)       To the right of each objective, there is an indication of which other ratings contain this particular objective. If the rating is indicated in red italics, it notifies the reader that the objective(s) is (are) verbatim in each rating; however, the objective numbers are different. This indication is the first step to help the training providers identify the potential commonalities between the various syllabi. As a second step, the training provider must determine, at the level of local implementation, whether the objective is to be regarded as repeated or common.

Figure 3: Indication of the ratings that particular objective applies to

[applicable until 3 August 2024 - ED Decision 2019/023/R]

(b)       To the right of each objective, there is an indication of which other ratings contain this particular objective. If the rating is indicated in red italics, it notifies the reader that the objective(s) is (are) verbatim in each rating; however, the objective numbers are different. This indication is the first step to help training providers identify potential commonalities between the various syllabi. As a second step, training providers must determine, on the level of local implementation, whether the objective is to be regarded as repeated or common.

Figure 3: Indication of the ratings to which a particular objective applies

[applicable from 4 August 2024 - ED Decision 2023/011/R]

3.1       Repeated objectives

All the objectives appearing in a syllabus are implicitly appropriate to this syllabus. As a consequence, objectives may be repeated ‘verbatim’ in different rating syllabi and nevertheless specify a different performance. The reader always needs to mentally add the sentence ‘in this syllabus context’ at the end of each objective.

For example, the objective ‘use approved phraseology’ is repeated (same level, same corpus, same content) in all the syllabi but is different because the context is different in each syllabus (a learner that is able to use approved phraseology for en-route traffic will need additional training before mastering the phraseology in the provision of aerodrome control).

3.2       Common objectives

(a)       Common objectives are verbatim the same objectives that appear in more than one rating syllabi in the same context so that they do not need to be taught again in case of combined or successively organised courses.

For example, the objective ‘describe the human information-processing model’ is common for all the syllabi because the context is non-specific and is, therefore, not determined by the type of rating.

(b)      As a general principle, the rating subject ‘Human Factors’ is identical in each of the rating training syllabi and can be considered as containing common objectives because the context is always the same. This means that the rating training objectives relating to Human Factors need to be taught only once. If a learner acquires an additional rating, that learner would not be required to repeat the Human Factors objectives.

4.         Action verbs that support the taxonomy for training objectives

(a)       The five taxonomy levels should be understood to have the following levels of complexity:

(1)       Action verbs for Level 1

Level 1 — A basic knowledge of the subject. It is the ability to remember essential points, to memorise data and retrieve it.

[applicable until 3 August 2024 - ED Decision 2019/023/R]

(1)       Action verbs for Level 1

Level 1 — A basic knowledge of the subject. It is the ability to remember essential points, to memorise data and retrieve it.

[applicable from 4 August 2024 - ED Decision 2023/011/R]

(2)       Action verbs for Level 2

Level 2 — The ability to understand and to discuss the subject matter intelligently in order to represent and act upon certain objects and events.

[applicable until 3 August 2024 - ED Decision 2019/023/R]

(2)       Action verbs for Level 2

Level 2 — The ability to understand and to discuss the subject matter intelligently in order to represent and act upon certain objects and events.

[applicable from 4 August 2024 - ED Decision 2023/011/R]

(3)       Action verbs for Level 3

Level 3 — A thorough knowledge of the subject and the ability to apply it with accuracy. The ability to make use of the repertoire of knowledge to develop plans and activate them.

[applicable until 3 August 2024 - ED Decision 2019/023/R]

(3)       Action verbs for Level 3

Level 3 — A thorough knowledge of the subject and the ability to apply it with accuracy. The ability to make use of the repertoire of knowledge to develop plans and activate them.

[applicable from 4 August 2024 - ED Decision 2023/011/R]

(4)       Action verbs for Level 4

Level 4 — Ability to establish a line of action within a unit of known applications following the correct chronology and the adequate method to resolve a problematic situation. This involves the integration of known applications in a familiar situation.

[applicable until 3 August 2024 - ED Decision 2019/023/R]

(4)       Action verbs for Level 4

Level 4 — Ability to establish a line of action within a unit of known applications following the correct chronology and the adequate method to resolve a problematic situation. This involves the integration of known applications in a familiar situation.

[applicable from 4 August 2024 - ED Decision 2023/011/R]

(5)       Action verbs for Level 5

Level 5 — Ability to analyse new situation in order to elaborate and apply one or other relevant strategy to solve a complex problem. The defining feature is that the situation is qualitatively different from those previously met, requiring judgement and evaluation of options.

[applicable until 3 August 2024 - ED Decision 2019/023/R]

(5)       Action verbs for Level 5

Level 5 — Ability to analyse new situation in order to elaborate and apply one or other relevant strategy to solve a complex problem. The defining feature is that the situation is qualitatively different from those previously met, requiring judgement and evaluation of options.

[applicable from 4 August 2024 - ED Decision 2023/011/R]

(b)       Application of taxonomy levels to practically based objectives

(1)       Objectives at taxonomy level 3 or higher, which are of a practical nature, related to all subjects except ATM, may be achieved by any suitable type of practical training methods, e.g. hands-on, plotting on charts, etc.

(2)       Objectives at taxonomy level 3 or higher, for the ATM subject (basic and rating), are practical by nature and require the integration of several knowledge areas and skills at the same time, e.g. vectoring of an aircraft requires knowledge and skills in the areas of radiotelephony, aircraft performance, navigation and radar theory. Therefore, ATM level 3 objectives should be achieved through the use of a part-task trainer or a simulator.

(3)       ATM level 4 objectives should be achieved for the most part through the use of a simulator. A part-task trainer, which presents operational situations at an enforced pace, may be used to achieve some ATM level 4 objectives.

(4)       ATM level 5 objectives should be achieved through the use of a simulator.