Cablegate: Safe Skies; Feedback From Kenyans On Faa Training

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 003983

SIPDIS

FAA FOR CORNELIA HUNTER, CJ COLLINS AND JENNIFER FANGMAN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EAIR EAID KE
SUBJECT: SAFE SKIES; FEEDBACK FROM KENYANS ON FAA TRAINING
COURSES

1. Summary: Five managers and one technician from the Kenya
Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) and Kenya Airport Authority
(KAA) whom FAA sent to training courses in August praised
the classes and said they would strive to use the
information to improve management, both of security and more
widely within their agencies. KCAA DG Kuto assured Emboffs
the agencies are developing incentives and commitments to
ensure retention of trainees. The FAA training under the
Safe Skies Initiative should contribute significantly to
improvements in civil aviation security and safety in Kenya.
Emboffs will check back with trainees in early 2006 for a
progress report. End Summary.

2. In response to a proposal from Embassy, KCAA official
Cornel Oguya arranged a meeting for EconOff Fleitman and DHS
Jones with KCAA and KAA officials recently returned from FAA
training courses to provide feedback on the classes and
their plans for implementing the training in their agencies.
KCAA Human Resources Manager Grace Okungu, KCAA Aviation
Security Manager Victor Mbithi, and KAA's airport security
managers Machio Harrison, Evans Achochi and John Kirarei
attended the August 18-31 session of the Advanced Manager
Training (Course 10002) at the FAA's Center for Management
and Executive Leadership (CMEL) in Palm Coast, Florida.
John Nyamu attended the August 22-26 ILS Light Inspection
for Airways Facilities (Course 43854) in Oklahoma City. KAA
Management Training and Development Director Mary Gachochu
and other officials also attended.

3. KCAA Director General Kuto opened the meeting by
expressing gratitude for the valuable training resources FAA
was providing under the Safe Skies program and noting that
the trainees had found the courses very good. He strongly
regretted the subsequent resignations of some other previous
training recipients, noting both the loss of valuable FAA
resources, and the disruption to KCAA. He said that KCAA
was developing both retention incentives and binding
agreements to prevent future losses.

4. All of the management trainees praised the content and
training procedures used in the course, noting that previous
training had focused entirely on technical security issues.
Kirarei found the practical demonstrations and interaction
with colleagues from other countries especially useful.
Harrison asked for longer courses and additional specialized
instructors that would provide more in-depth, detailed
information. Seeing a large foreign airport operation was
an eye-opening experience for the class. After discussion,
the group agreed that in order to make future courses even
more relevant, trainees and management would review the
course outline and provide some suggestions or case studies
for discussion. All agreed they need to develop means to
sustain improvements in performance that come after a
security lapse was noted and corrected.

5. Okungu said the training came at the right time in KCAA's
development of management systems in an independent agency,
and fit perfectly into the strategic plan. With many more
managers needing such training, she urged holding similar
courses at the East Africa School of Aviation at Kenyatta
Airport. She also recommended bringing in students from
East African Community (EAC) members Tanzania and Uganda to
build a shared vision across the region, conjecturing that
training 30% of the management cadre across the EAC would
create the critical mass needed to change the management
culture.

6. KAA Management Director Gachochu agreed on the need for
localized training, stressing the security managers' need
for broader management training, especially to improve
customer service skills. Training top managers would
incline them to encourage middle management to use the
management techniques. She underscored the need for the
trainees to develop means to demonstrate to their senior
management the training's benefit to the organization,
especially the saving of resources.

7. DHS's Jones suggested the FAA could provide the course
materials and perhaps send one trainer to assist and train
local instructors for the first session. He invited KCAA to
submit a proposal, and suggested that future FAA courses
could also be tailored to include a train the trainer
component.

8. Nyamu, who took the ILS Light Inspection course, praised
the class and said he would implement it for the upcoming
inspection. KAA repeated that localized training was needed
for six more inspectors to cover the three airports with
ILS. However, they were unsure whether the East Africa
Aviation School had the ILS equipment needed for training.

9. Everyone agreed to hold another session in early 2006 to
discuss their progress in implementing the course materials
and improving management in their agencies.

BELLAMY

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