Free B737 Type Rating If Furloughed

B

b747400av8r

New Member
Hey, to all you furloughed pilots out there, I just spoke to a Captain Carrie Lauer with AeroService Aviation Training Cntr. In Miami, Fl. As (I am in the market for a B737-300 Type rating).
She quoted me a price of $6995.00 USD minus -$500.00 for a summer special discount minus an additional -$200.00 for my ALPA membership, making the total cost $6295.00 for the B737 type which I thought sounded pretty good…
BUT what really amazed me was she said that if I was furloughed (I’m not now, but been there many times) there is funding from the government (called WIA) that in most states would cover ALL the training, making it practically a free type rating (wish that was available when I was on the street). Just thought I’d pass this along and hope it helps someone, if you know a furloughed pilot let them know.
You can reach Carrie at 305-871-5557 or 800-752-7467 ask about WIA
 
State of Florida would not cover all of it. I would have had to come up with 3K which was not possible at the time.

Unfortunately there was a time limit, which has now expired.
 
My understanding is that there are two different types of grant funds available. One WIA (Workforce Investment Act) has a fiscal year end in this case was June - - therefore additional funds should be available sometime in July - - possibly you should check again with your local office.

The other grant is the NEG (National Emergency Grant) expires on December 31, 2003 - - but it also has a fiscal year end. This grant should be funded again very soon. This is my understanding but I recommend you call Carrie at 800-752-7467 - - as she is very knowledgeable in this area and told me that she has gotten funding even for individuals previously turned down. Email her at carrie@aeroservice.com with any questions.
 
When I was furloughed I tried to get a 737 type from WIA bust met many many obstacles. First, even though the WIA is a federal program the money is allocated and controlled by state. Indiana may not get as much as NY. That's why in some cases a particular state may pay for 100% of the WIA training and other states(John pointed out FL) may only ay a percentage - just depends on the state. And as pointed above - it's done on a fiscal year basis - once the money is gone it's gone until the next year and it goes quick!!

Second, and most importantly, I was told at the the local unemployment office that in order to get the money I'd have to prove that I needed the type rating to be employable at a company. In other words, this type rating was the only thing lacking to make me qualifed at a particular company. I, like most other people, used the Southwest line "I need a 737 type rating to go to Southwest" well she looked at the website and asked if I met all of the other stated requirements - problem was that Southwest no longer requires a type rating to be HIRED. They required you to have one to start training but not to be hired so she wouldn't approve it.

Having said all of that - I know many many people that have gotten types that way. Guess like everything else it just depends on which unemployment office you're talking to.

Jason
 
Jason I had the same problem. At that time SWA did not require a type. They do now!

Also, did you have trouble with the North Carolina .vs. home state thing? The FL people kept telling me I had to apply to NC and vice versa. I finally convinced someone in Tallahassee that I belonged in FL.

The lady was actually very nice. She emailed me TONS of stuff, but none of it worked out. When I went down to the WIA office here in Orlando I got a cold, hard stare from the large, black lady running the place, who said and I quote, "this program is not intended for people like you." I didn't know what to make of that! Like me? Republican? Christian? White?

I guess I must be an "oppressed minority" !!!!
 
[ QUOTE ]
"this program is not intended for people like you."

[/ QUOTE ]

She probably meant "overpaid" pilot.
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[ QUOTE ]
Jason I had the same problem. At that time SWA did not require a type. They do now!

Also, did you have trouble with the North Carolina .vs. home state thing? The FL people kept telling me I had to apply to NC and vice versa. I finally convinced someone in Tallahassee that I belonged in FL.

The lady was actually very nice. She emailed me TONS of stuff, but none of it worked out. When I went down to the WIA office here in Orlando I got a cold, hard stare from the large, black lady running the place, who said and I quote, "this program is not intended for people like you." I didn't know what to make of that! Like me? Republican? Christian? White?

I guess I must be an "oppressed minority" !!!!



[/ QUOTE ]I thought SWA eased up on the type req. and that you could be hired without one but had a certain time to get it.
 
The WIA (Workforce Investment Act) is different in every state, some states have run out of money while other counties in states are out of money. Some pilots have received enough money to cover the full cost of a 737 type rating, while others have received about half. I have not heard very many nice things about AeroService Aviation.

Be careful of the place that you go for your type rating, Higher Power & K&S have a good rep of providing quality training. I work for Alteon Training & we offer 737 type ratings and provide quality training as well. If you want you can email me, I will be more than happy to provide you the contact information for Higher Power or K&S, or will get in contact with the correct person to train at Alteon Training.

Mike
mpenguin1@yahoo.com

WIA website:
http://www.careeronestop.org/WiaProviderSearch.asp

K&S
http://www.b737-training.com/

Higher Power
http://www.jetcrew.com/

Good 737 site
http://www.b737.org.uk/quiz.htm
 
As a previous student I found Aeroservice FANTASTIC! The instructors were very experienced and knowledgeable. The training was excellent in a very comfortable environment. The front office staff was very helpful and friendly - in fact the owner Captain Vito LaForgia showed a personal interest in ALL of the class members success. He personally made a phone call in my behalf that got me EMPLOYED with an airline after my completion of training. I would highly recommend this training center to any of my friends. This company offers a total package, training, placement assistance and personal attention. I would agree with the previous post in that you should "be careful of the place that you go for your type rating" especially if they have to bad mouth the competition to get your business.
 
Well John actually I didn't have any problems as to where I "belonged" - the lady here in Indiana agreed from the get go that any WIA money should be claimed in Indiana - not NC. She was very helpful but couldn't do much for me. She said before they would even consider appropriating WIA funds I'd have to come down and do about a half day of testing to see what career I best suited for! ha Luckily I ended up employed about 3 weeks later so I didn't even screw with it.

As far as NC and FL bickering back and forth - here's one for ya' - caused quite the confusion in my local unemployment office - at the time of the MDY furlough I was a resident of Indiana, furloughed from a company in North Carolina, didn't have enough quarters worked in NC to file there so had to go to my previous job - Allegheny Airlines which was a company headquartered in Pennsylvania but I was based in New York. Confused yet?? The nice lady at the unemployment office almost had a heart attack when I told her all of that! ha Ended up filing in NY which happened to be one of the highest paying states in the country. I made almost as much on employment as I did as a CRJ FO
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Jason
 
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