What's in Skyteam's 'airline staff training center'?

Many students complained to Tuoi Tre about chaotic training at an aviation human resources training academy.

Studying for 3 to 6 months, 95% of the time passing the exam, having insiders in the two largest airlines in Vietnam... These "sweet" advices make many young men and women pool large sums of money to pay Skyteam to study aviation-related professions.

Infiltrating the Skyteam 'flight staff training center' - Part 1: 'Winged' advertising

Receiving a report of suspected fraud from a student studying at the Skyteam Human Resources Academy Training Center (located in Nam Dong commune, Dong Anh district, Hanoi ), Tuoi Tre reporters quickly investigated.

After more than a month of meeting with students who have studied here, many surprising information was gradually revealed.

Paid 75 million but had to "drop out of school early to reduce suffering"

There are more than 50 students staying in Skyteam’s dormitory, about 2km from the headquarters. Most of the students are studying for ground attendant and flight attendant training courses.

When reporters approached a group of four students at the dormitory, these students said they were all studying flight attendant course 9 at the center, studying from September 2023 until now. However, currently, all four of these students have not been able to take the entrance exam because they are "stuck" in English.

Among the four students, one dropped out of college after finishing his first year to pursue his dream of joining Skyteam; one just finished high school and was introduced to Skyteam by a relative; one flew from the Central Highlands to Hanoi to study.

Student D.D. (from Nam Dinh ) said with a sad smile: "At first, we also registered to study here because of the saying "commitment to training until passing", but everything was just a rosy picture painted by the center. From course 9 to course 13, I only saw one person pass the flight attendant exam."

After nearly 6 months of studying flight attendant training, a student said that although she knew the center had signs of fraud, she did not dare to report it and silently endured it. "Because it was my cousin who brought me here to study, and my cousin also works in the admissions office of this center," the student revealed.

Students in a Skyteam training course - Photo from Skyteam website

Similarly, N.D.D. (born in 2000, from Tuyen Quang ) attended an international flight attendant training course with a tuition fee of 75 million VND at Skyteam from October 2023, but by February 2024, this student was determined to "drop out of school early to reduce suffering". D. worked as a waiter at a bar in Hanoi to earn money to pay off the debt he had borrowed to pay tuition fees to the center before.

"Before enrolling, I frankly shared with the consultant that I had completely lost my English foundation, but I was still advised to study international flight attendant. The consultant said: Oh my! Knowing nothing is easier to train, working hard for 4 to 6 months will get an English certificate. With a tall, handsome figure like this, it would be a waste not to study, hearing that, who wouldn't be interested?

When I entered the class, I was placed with students of different levels so I couldn’t keep up. When I failed the test, I was fined 50,000 VND.

With this type of training, after 3-4 courses, I still can't be sure if I can pass the English test, let alone pass the flight attendant exam. Because I was so tired and saw no hope, I quit," D. said indignantly.

Similarly, VH (from Tuyen Quang), a student taking a driving training course - operating airport equipment, said that Ms. Dinh Thi Dung - director of Skyteam center - directly advised that "most of you have passed and are working", so H. believed and signed a training contract.

After nearly 3 months of studying, H. shook his head in disappointment because he only learned English in the airport driving training course, had no driving lessons, and did not know what a car looked like.

"I once applied for VietJet and failed. When I went for the interview, the airline's recruiter didn't ask me a single question in English. Sensing something unusual, I texted to ask, and the director, Ms. Dung, said to rest assured and study, and there would be a new round of recruitment.

The tuition fee of 38 million VND has been paid in full, it would be a pity to drop out, but staying to study would only waste time and effort, and the opportunity is very slim," said H.

Flight attendant training advertisement on website - Screenshot

"With insiders, learning just to legitimize"?

At Skyteam headquarters, posing as parents coming to get advice for their daughter studying to be a flight attendant, we were warmly welcomed by assistant director and consultant Le Van Toan, who first invited us to see the company's profile.

Toan introduces a series of 21 courses of the center, including professional/skill courses for flight attendants, pilots, ground attendants, customer service, aviation security, aviation engineering...

"We have many courses. We recruit students continuously. My child is studying to be a flight attendant. No matter how tall they are, if they know a foreign language, they will pass very quickly. Normally, students who study both English and skills do not study for 5 months. At our school, 95% of them pass. Many of the previous courses passed, now there are 13 courses," Toan boasted.

At the Skyteam recruitment consulting point in Ho Chi Minh City, a woman named N. who claimed to be the branch director also directly advised us in the role of a parent. Ms. N. committed that after the center's 6-month training course, she would "guarantee" us a job as a flight attendant for major airlines in Vietnam.

In particular, to gain parents' trust, Ms. N. revealed: "We have internal staff from Vietnam Airlines and VietJet, passing the interview round is enough to get a job. Teachers who open schools must ensure output, secondly, they have insiders to connect, now how to legalize it to work, legalize it by having training.

My teachers are all judges, they have the list of students, they know. But those who don't study will not know what the teachers will ask.

According to the consultant, students in Ho Chi Minh City after signing the contract will be trained at the center located on Thang Long Street (Tan Binh District).

Skyteam headquarters in Nam Hong commune, Dong Anh, Hanoi - Photo: NGUYEN BAO

There are many abnormalities

According to information on the national portal on business registration, Skyteam Human Resources Academy Joint Stock Company was granted a business registration certificate by the Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment, first registered on June 6, 2023. Address at 26 Duong Dinh Nghe, Yen Hoa Ward, Cau Giay District, Hanoi. Charter capital of 9 billion VND.

The legal representative of the company is Ms. Dinh Thi Dung, born on January 2, 1995, director of the company. The name of the registered business location is Skyteam Human Resources Academy Training Center, registered business address at No. 25, Street 23B, Dia Village, Nam Hong Commune, Hanoi.

Skyteam's registered business lines include: unspecified education by level at training centers; courses on professional criticism and assessment; foreign language and conversation skills; speed reading; driving lessons for non-professional drivers; flying lessons; self-defense training; survival training; public speaking skills training; computer training.

In fact, Skyteam's 2024 recruitment announcement recruits 21 professional/skill courses related to the aviation industry, from baggage handlers to aviation security staff, flight attendants, pilots... Training lasts from 3 to 6 months.

After consultation, if the student agrees to study, a training contract will be signed including training content, training fees, and commitment of responsibility between the two parties.

The common point of all training contracts is a general commitment clause "commitment to training and accompanying until the student passes the exam to one of the airports and airlines". In case the student fails the exam, they will continue to receive completely free review.

In particular, whether registering for a loading and unloading training course or a flight attendant training course, the 18 training contents stated in the contract are the same. In addition, the contract states that "each training position will apply a separate program", but the specific program is not specified. When asked, the consultant only gave a general answer "learning aviation skills".

In addition, Skyteam's business registration shows the name "Skyteam Human Resources Academy Joint Stock Company". However, the name of the headquarters is "Skyteam Human Resources Academy Training Center" and on the website it says "Skyteam Academy Aviation Academy".

Skyteam 2024 Admissions Announcement

Another unusual thing is that on the website Skyteamacademy.edu, the company's homepage introduces courses including flight attendant training and English courses.

According to the reporter's investigation, in addition to online recruitment, Skyteam has directly gone to the provinces to organize recruitment consultations with schools, job centers and Youth Unions, especially prioritizing discharged soldiers.

Skyteam also advertises training courses on its website and runs recruitment newsletters on social media platforms, with just a touch of the hand and someone will call to advise on the course. In total, this company has about 50 recruitment offices in many provinces and cities across the country, with hotline numbers ready to advise candidates.

List of tuition fees for each course, from 35 to 100 million VND per student. For pilot training courses, tuition fees are negotiable and not less than 1 billion VND. If the student already has an English certificate, the tuition fee is reduced by 5 million VND/course.

Skyteam recruits students year-round, and as of May 2024, the company has opened its 13th training course. Each course has about 17-20 students, all of whom study in the same class, regardless of training position.

Not licensed to train aviation personnel

On May 25, at the request of Tuoi Tre, the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam reviewed the issuance of certificates of facilities qualified to train and coach aviation staff.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam confirmed that it has not received any application documents and has not yet issued a certificate of eligibility to train aviation staff to Skyteam Academy Joint Stock Company.

Local authorities involved in verification

On May 27, Tuoi Tre reporters went to Skyteam headquarters to clarify the students’ complaints. Ms. Dinh Thi Dung’s assistant, Mr. Le Van Toan, said that Ms. Dung had just been hospitalized for treatment and would be discharged in about a month.

Mr. Toan promised that the company would send a representative to work with Tuoi Tre newspaper. However, for many days now, reporters who have contacted Mr. Toan have received the answer: "We have not yet found a representative to work with. When we have a center, we will contact the newspaper."

Speaking to Tuoi Tre, a leader of the Dong Anh District People's Committee Office said that the district's specialized departments are verifying and synthesizing the incident. "When we have official verification results, we will inform the press further," he said.

Two lecturers were former chief flight attendants.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, Ms. Dinh Thi Dung was recruited to VietJet on August 8, 2017 and left her job on December 26, 2023, as a chief flight attendant before resigning. Mr. Cao Quyet Thang was recruited to VietJet on August 29, 2017 and left his job on July 1, 2022, as a chief flight attendant before resigning. These are two of three people who are currently lecturers and training consultants advertised by this center on the web.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/co-gi-o-lo-dao-tao-nhan-vien-hang-khong-skyteam-20240619085645969.htm