Immediate takeoff. BTS Tourism students from the Jeanne and Paul Augier high school in Nice will now be able to take – alongside their studies – the exam to become a steward and flight attendant. This is thanks to a new approved room within the high school.
Because to become an aircraft cabin crew, it is mandatory to obtain the Cabin crew attestation (CCA), a title issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC) after an examination.
A “preparation” for the diploma
Since 2023, the high school has already offered a kind of “prep” to prepare for this test. This is an option, offered in the first and second year of BTS Tourism for two hours per week. “We ask the students to come in uniform and we discuss the necessary skills to acquire for the CCA”, explains Laurie Geffroy, co-coordinator of the Tourism section at the high school.
But then the students – with their BTS in hand – had to register for training and obtain their CCA before being able to apply. They could thus easily lose several weeks before becoming a steward.
Since this year, things have gone faster for them, because the establishment has formed a partnership with Mermoz Academy, which trains CCA and flight crew professions.
The high school therefore transformed one of its classrooms into a standard room to teach the theoretical part to the students.
A first in France
Inside are specialist displays, three aircraft seats and the IT equipment required for the room to be DGAC accredited.
Thus, at the end of the “prep” in the first year, theoretical training begins in the second year: courses on aeronautical history and vocabulary and on airplane safety.
Then, the students go for ten days to the Mermoz Academy premises in Paris to follow the practical part of the training. The final exams take place in Paris and Aix-en-Provence. All this in parallel with the BTS Tourism courses.
A saving of time for students who, after completing their BTS, also have their CCA. “It is also a financial gain because part of the training is done in Nice, so the students do not have to live in Paris for very long”Laurie Geffroy sale.
As CCA training at Mermoz Academy is chargeable, the school negotiated a partnership for their students: 1,280 euros instead of the 2,500 euros usually charged.
It is the first high school in France to offer this dual curriculum. This year, of the 90 students enrolled in the first year, 57 are taking preparatory training. “The BTS Tourism students were really in demand, particularly because many of them wanted to become cabin crew”concludes Laurie Geffroy.
