Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (15 January 2018) The Cayman Islands Airports Authority (CIAA), which owns and operates the Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA) and the Charles Kirkconnell International Airport (CKIA), celebrated a host of Learning & Development initiatives during 2017 as part of its key core objectives to develop quality talent management.

Mr. Wayne DaCosta, who has been an employee of the CIAA for 10 years, recently completed his studies for a Master’s (MSc.) degree in Airport Planning & Management at Cranfield University in the UK, on a fully-funded basis by the CIAA.  Mr. DaCosta began his studies in September 2016 and completed the academic portion in October 2017, persevering with an intensive workload whilst also enduring personal bereavement in his own family. Mr. DaCosta undertook an extensive battery of courses, group projects and a Thesis during the year-long course of study. His courses involved: Air Transport Market Analysis and Forecasting; Airport Design; Airport Environmental Planning; Airport Operations; Airport Finance & Business Management; Airport Strategic Management; Regulatory Policy and Air Law; Fundamentals of the Air Transport Industry; and Research Methods and Statistics. After completing his classroom work, projects and Thesis, Mr. DaCosta was attached to three UK airports for customized job-shadowing stints and also accompanied and observed an airport audit by the UK Civil Aviation Authority until early December 2017. Further international exposure and mentoring for Mr. DaCosta is expected to continue into 2018.

Another exciting milestone involved the success within a cohort of CIAA Managers and Chiefs who began studies in early 2016 for the Level 3 Certificate in the Institute of Learning & Management (ILM), an internationally recognized professional accreditation. The course was offered through the Civil Service College, and the Instructor for the entire duration of the programme was Mr. Graeme Jackson of the Portfolio of the Civil Service. A number of Level 2 and Level 3 modules were covered in the programme including: Work Teams Leadership; Workplace Communication; Understanding Effective Teams; Planning Change in the Workplace; Understanding Leadership; Developing Yourself and Others; Understanding, Organizing and Delegating in the Workplace; Understanding Performance Management; and Leading and Motivating Teams. Of the cohort of students, six thus far were successful in completing Level 3, with three from the ORIA and three from the CKIA. The students completed the level 3 in six months, which is an achievement in itself, but in addition the CIAA students were commended by the external Verifier for producing exceptional work of a very high international standard. The students will be honoured at a special ceremony at the Authority in January 2018.

In Cayman Brac at the CKIA, there is excitement as the succession plan for Mr. Darynn Conolly as the Airport Operations Officer (AOO) Designate is nearing completion. For the past 15-plus months, Mr. Conolly has been undergoing a robust programme of on-the-job mentoring and coaching, augmented by academic work and assignments. Throughout that time, he has been closely supported by Mr. Jeremy Jackson, the Airport Operations Officer, and Mr. Miguel Martin, the CKIA Airport Manager. Mr. Conolly also attended international symposia as well as visiting ORIA on a few occasions to participate in work assignments, as well as to be exposed to all of the critical operational aspects of a larger airport. Thus far the individual and group assessments of his work projects and job-shadowing assignments have been positive, and Mr. Conolly is expected to assume the substantive post of Airports Operations Officer in early 2018.

The CIAA was also represented at the 2nd International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Global Runway Safety Symposium in Lima, Peru on 20-22 November 2017. This global event was attended by over 300 persons representing 200+ airports from 73 countries. ORIA Operations Manager, Mr. Rob Harris, was a presenter on Panel 6, which provided a report on the status of implementation of airport runway safety teams (RST), discussing the benefits in safety performance after initiating a RST and the integrations with an airports Safety Management System (SMS).

Additionally, the CIAA’s Chief Safety Officer (CSO) Mr. Andrew McLaughlin is now a qualified ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program CMA Inspector. This internationally-recognized designation allows Mr. McLaughlin to operate at a higher level in his role at both the ORIA and CKIA and also, if he chooses, to participate in safety audits of other eligible airports.

CIAA Chief Executive Officer Mr. Albert Anderson commented: “I am honoured to lead a team of colleagues who are eager to learn and develop, and I thank the Board for financially supporting these endeavours. In order to achieve our strategic Mission and Vision and to exceed stakeholder expectation, it is critical that the Authority commits itself to ensuring that we attract, develop, engage and succession plan our employees to ensure that they can optimize their potential to effectively contribute to the organizational as well as their personal and professional goals.”

PHOTO SUBMITTED: Chief Safety Officer Andrew McLaughlin and Chief Airport Operations Officer Nominee Wayne DaCosta are a few of several airport employees who are successfully participating in training and development opportunities at the CIAA.