Notes to the Financial Statements (cont'd) - Kenya Airways

Kenya Airways Annual Report & Accounts29Word from the Chief Executive (cont’d)and developing a robust network-wide sponsorshipand promotions program in the coming year whichwill be enhanced by the appointment of a dedicatedresource in management.HUMAN CAPITALKenya Airways had a headcount total of 4,167 peopleat the start of the financial year in April 2009compared to 4,122 people as at 31st March 2010.The main focus of the Human Resource Departmentwas to drive a high performance culture to ensuredelivery of the Company Strategy. Key to this wasraising people capabilities at all levels and workingclosely with all departments within the organizationto offer new and innovative training solutionsthat help drive a high performance culture. A newprogram “Strengthening our Pride” was offeredto line managers to provide them with practicalteam leadership skills for dealing with day to daypeople issues.Learning and DevelopmentThe drive to build people capability has seen theCompany invest in a number of initiatives andprograms aimed at development of its staff. Thesehave been further complemented by the variousteams that manage skills training. These are theFlight Operations Training Team, Technical TrainingTeam, Ground Services Training team and theCommercial Skills Training Team.Flight Operations TrainingThe Flight Operations Department has also mademajor strides towards increasing the efficiency oftheir operations in the year and continues to doso. The Pride Centre now has a recently installedVirtual Procedures Trainer (VPT) facility for KenyaAirways pilots. The introduction of VPT has enabledthe flight operations training team to make costssavings in logistical and other fees of up to USD743,332 in the year 2009 in addition to reducingthe time pilots spend away from the operational base from 34days to 24 days during conversion training. In July 2008, the KQBoard approved the construction of Phase 2 of the Pride Centrewhich we expect to be completed by September 2010. This secondphase will host a “Boeing 737NG Full Flight Simulator” togetherwith related briefing rooms for pilot training. The facility will furtherenhance efficiencies within the B737 pilot training.The key benefits of the simulator include reduction in the numberof days that pilots spent traveling overseas for training andreduction of hotel and accommodation costs. The facility willalso avail more pilots to operate flights as pilots will be able tofly during their days of training without violating the stipulatedduty periods. The company also expects to undertake third partybusiness from the excess hours created. The payback period forthe simulator investment is less than 3 years.Technical TrainingThe Technical Training School is responsible for developingand refreshing the Technical and Engineering skills requiredin maintaining Kenya Airways aircraft. The school now has thecapability of conducting most of the engineering courses inhouse.These courses have been developed in conjunction withthe respective aircraft manufacturers. This has significantlycontributed to cost cutting as courses are currently being heldlocally by KQ instructors. We are looking at investing further in thedevelopment of engineering skills especially at the artisan level.Ground Services TrainingThe Ground Services training focused on the development ofinternal training programs to meet functional demand. Duringthe year, all Ground Services training programs were reviewedand new courses introduced, not only to reflect the review ofstandard operating procedures that came into place during theyear, but also to align the training programs with the standardsby the IATA Safety Audit of Ground Operations (ISAGO).ISAGO is an internationally recognized and accepted system usedto assess the operational management and control systems of anorganization that provides ground handling services for airlines.Key among the new courses was the Airside Safety TrainingCourse that was combined with a massive airside safety campaign,under the banner: “one safe KQ.” These initiatives realized aninitial commendable reduction in ground services safety relatedincidents and improvement in safety awareness depicted by theincrease in the level of safety reporting.The strategy of the Ground Services Department was to developcourses for all functions within the Department modeled on worldclass operations. This was achieved by the end of 2009, with theintroduction of over thirty functional courses covering all areaswithin Ground Services operations. By the end of the year, 98%of the staff had undergone both initial and refresher training.Commercial TrainingThe year 2009/2010 marked a very exciting and engaging periodfor the Commercial Skills Team. Tasked with the training of the inflightservice and sales and ticketing teams, the team endeavoredto ensure that the required staff were trained and ready to supportthe company’s strategic plan.Heightened expectations for exemplary service have necessitatedthe development of new and innovative programs and approaches.These will ensure that Kenya Airways in-flight attendants and salesagents are equipped with the skills necessary to succeed in thishighly competitive industry. The skill-related programs have beencomplemented by company-wide developmental programs thataim to create a commonness of thought and to build leadershipat all levels of the organization.In January 2010, the team rolled out its first commercial product;The Certificate of Airline Cabin Crew. This a three-month certificatecourse for anyone who harbors the ambition of pursuing a careeras a cabin crew. The first lot of 41 participants, aptly referred toas “The Pride Stars,” graduated in March 2010. A similar programwas offered to people outside the company seeking careers inground services and a total of 24 participants also graduated inMarch with a certificate in Ground Services.The Company plans to have four intakes per year. This should see theKenya Airways Pride Centre supply the industry with a steady streamof cabin crew and customer service agents every three months.