While many civil aviation training centers in Africa cater to technical skills, IATA studies have shown that there's a dearth of soft skill or safety training, especially in the eastern and southern parts of the continent.

To meet this need, the AviAssist Foundation plans to roll out a program in concert with small training centers in the region to expand the safety training curriculum, says director Tom Kok. It will partner with the training centers to minimize the cost of the training courses to make the training affordable even for small charter operators.

A focus of the training will be how these soft skills fit within safety management systems, which are being mandated by some national regulatory authorities.