The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), through its strict preventive measures to deal with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and across its various sectors, provided hundreds of qualified cadres of young Saudi men who are qualified and trained in the latest technologies and who have proven their competence in the field work. They've worked to implement precautionary and preventive measures necessary to combat this pandemic. Furthermore, they've worked to ensure the continuous flow of goods and services in the air outlets around the clock, with a view to continuing freight and supply operations. Assuring the arrival of necessary goods and products and the flow of goods to the air freight stations around the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's airports in a safe and secure manner, and in accordance to the best international standards. These worthy accomplishments come from the keenness by GACA to give and empower young leaders and give them the opportunity to work in its various sectors, whether leadership, technical, administrative, or operational jobs. GACA believes in the role of Saudi youth in developing and strengthening the aviation sector which is playing a major role in all disciplines and are in line with the Kingdom's vision 2030. Because of its belief in the importance of young Saudi leaders, GACA has implemented an approved plans to meet the needs of specialized human cadres in the fields of aviation sciences, in addition to developing the level of performance of workers in the security and safety of air transport in accordance with the highest international standards. Furthermore, GACA has undertaken the option of empowering Saudi women to work in various fields in the Kingdom's civil aviation sector. This includes engineering in all its specialties (mechanical, architectural). They're also making headway in finance, insurance, contracts, procurement, legal, and air control. This in addition to aviation safety and security and economic licensing. In this regard, GACA has undertaken many initiatives, programs and courses, including the "Future Leaders" program. This program aims to train and qualify Saudi trainees of new distinguished graduates with bachelor's and master's degrees in aviation science, aviation safety, airport administration, aviation management, and airport safety. These cadres are being qualified to work in operational specialized fields at various airports around the Kingdom. This is within the framework of GACA's endeavor to keep pace with future developments. The program also includes specific areas that guarantee applicants passing several stages and are subjected to continuous evaluation at each stage of the program. This in addition to designing an integrated and scheduled plan that includes theoretical training and on-the-job training for the trainees. Furthermore, efforts are made to develop their capabilities and to obtain a distinguished training to gain experience and skills that they will apply after graduation. it is worth mentioning that five batches have graduated from the Future Leaders Program, since the start. The first batch started in 2015, whereby the fourth batch of the program has been totally dedicated to the female cadre. In that particular batch, twenty female trainees (holders of bachelors and master degrees) were enrolled in the specialized operational and administrative fields to work in several sectors at GACA. This was an attempt to raise the percentage of Saudi women's participation in the sector, finding equal job opportunities for the people of this country in various sectors. Furthermore, qualifying them, investing in their energies, giving them the necessary expertise, and developing their capabilities. Meanwhile, to refine, train and develop national cadres in accordance with the highest levels and to the finest international standards and obtain excellent training in disciplines related to the civil aviation sector, GACA provided 430 training programs in 2019 with 4,968 training seats available. The training opportunity broke down as follows: 2304 training seats for the Saudi Academy of Civil Aviation program and 1608 training seats were available for distance education programs (enrichment), 151 training seats for the Public Institute of Management program and 905 training seats were dedicated to the rest of the training entities. In regards to the scholarship program abroad, GACA has enrolled 89 employees in the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques program for external scholarship "Your job , your scholarship" for the academic disciplines of (Air Traffic Control Diploma, Bachelor and Master). Seats that were allocated to GACA as per the specialization came as follows: Master degree, (cyber security), Bachelor's degree (Air Traffic Management, Aviation Management, Airport Management, Diplomatic Relations, International Relations, Aviation Science, Electronic Engineering, Software Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Safety Engineering, Network and Communications Engineering). This in addition to Diploma specializing in Air Traffic Control. With regard to specialized programs, the number of programs has reached 368 specialized programs benefiting 2440 trainees, while the number of specialized centers has reached 27 specialized training centers. This includes (IATA, ICAO, ACI, Saudi Academy of Civil Aviation, Dubai Police, and the Joint Aviation Authorities Training Organisation (JAATO). Meanwhile, the number of male and female students trained in accordance with the cooperative training program reached 104.
