Shawbury QHI

A little bit about us

Ascent Flight Training is an established, fast growing aerospace and training company which operates across the UK, delivering flying training services to the UK Government and UK industry partners.

We want to attract and work with innovative, adaptable, and proactive people to help us achieve Our passion for training, helping our customers to realise their potential and deliver their Mission..

We offer the opportunity to work in a flexible, dynamic, and diverse environment within our Training Support Hub and on our operations sites.

You will bring expertise and fresh ideas to an environment where your contribution is really valued.

At Ascent, our values are rooted in respect – for our employees, our partners and our customer. That’s why championing diversity and inclusion is so important to us; when we embrace different perspectives and give everyone the chance to be the best they can be, we can think in new, creative ways that grow and enhance our business. We are committed to equal opportunities for all. We pride ourselves on being a Disability Confident Committed Employer. We actively practice inclusivity for all people with disabilities where we provide work place opportunities and experiences. As a supportive employer we endeavour to accommodate all disabilities and will always work with our employees to make provisions for their disability needs.

We encourage all people with disabilities to apply for relevant skilled job roles within the business. As an inclusive company we welcome all disability applications which will be processed fairly, in line with our recruitment policy. At Ascent, we also provide work place schemes for all students including those with disabilities, this includes Apprenticeships, Work Experience and Job Shadowing for a day. Ascent will continue to work towards maintaining our commitment to those with disabilities

A day in the life of an Ascent Qualified Helicopter Instructor (QHI)

As a QHI you will be a part of a dedicated cadre of Instructors with a CFS accredited B1 (or higher instructional category) and work with our military partners to prepare military trainees for the front line. You will use state of the art synthetic training devices and fly the latest generation of the Airbus H135 and H145 as part of your daily routine. If you wish to be a part of this fulfilling, interesting and challenging task please read on to find out more details of this exciting role.

You will: 

• Conduct ground theory lessons in the form of mass briefings.
• Instruct basic and advanced techniques using various cutting edge synthetic devices.
• Instruct on one of the courses of increasing complexity. These range from the ab-initio course that teaches basic flying techniques to the specific tactical courses of each 3 services.
• Where required support crewman courses by flying the aircraft for their specific syllabus sorties.
• Supervise flying and be a part of the ‘Just’ flight safety culture at RAF Shawbury.
• Drive continuous improvement in courseware and all other aspects of your working environment.

What will make you successful?

You will already be qualified as a Qualified Helicopter Instructor from your previous employment in the UK military. You will deliver the highest standard of instruction using the latest synthetic and aircraft technology to develop the next generation of service pilot. In doing so you will have the opportunity to hone and progress your instructional skills in order to upgrade where appropriate or consolidate your instructional category on the new aircraft type. You will thrive amongst our QHI cadre and build a good relationship with our military partners to ensure the trainees benefit from a smooth transition through each course.

You will thoroughly enjoy being back in a Squadron environment, and being part of a team where your hard work can be seen in the progression of the trainees as you will be preparing them at such an early stage of their career. You will know the importance of being able to work successfully in situations that can often be pressured.

And you will also:

• Have a civilian Class 1 medical or military Annual Medical.
• Be able to demonstrate your instructional experience.
• Have strong communication skills, be able to build relationships to work in collaboration with teams across the organisation.
• Have strong presentation skills, targeting a wide audience from customers to internal stakeholders.
• Be able to demonstrate courage and the ability to solve problems and make decisions.
• Be responsible for continuous development and creation of courseware. 

What can we offer you in return?

• Competitive salary
• Equivalent to 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays (Extra days with length of service)
• Private AXA health care for you and your family 
• Pension plan (Up to 6% matched)
• Life Assurance (Up to 3 times your annual salary)
• Flexible benefits (Buying and selling of holiday, BUPA dental, cycle2work scheme, retail discounts)
• Enhanced maternity and paternity leave and pay
• Enhanced company sick pay which increases with length of service
• Employee Assistance Programme (24/7 free and confidential legal and wellbeing advice)
• Annual reviews of your salary and individual learning and development plan
• Mental Health Support and subscription to the Unmind platform for you and a plus one
• Free eye tests for DSE users and money towards any subsequent corrective glasses.