The organizers of the Helitech International show will be at Heli-Expo to promote the 2015 edition of the event, which will take place at the ExCel London exhibition center from October 6 to 8. For the first time, Helitech will feature a “Learning and Skills Zone,” located on the exhibit floor.
“The Learning and Skills Zone we are launching is aiming at anyone who wants to know about the pathways into the helicopter industry,” exhibition director John Hyde told AIN. The target audience will be brought to the show by UK-based Aviation Skills Partnership, which works with schools and universities to help promote aviation careers.
The Aviation Skills Partnership describes its goal as: “To transform the approach to skills and career development in the aviation sector.” It operates across key career paths that include engineer/maintenance, pilot, air traffic, airport operations, cabin crew, operations, planning and crewing.
Aviation Skills Partnership is also planning to present Rotorcraft Skills Awards to “promote and celebrate the people, businesses and organizations who put development and the promotion of skills central to their work within the aviation sector.” The four categories will be: Young Person of the Year; Provider of the Year; Businessof the Year; and Coach/Mentor/Trainer/Teacher of the Year. A maintenance, repair and overhaul zone will be formed, too, to “give some identity to those exhibitors,” Hyde said.
Overall, this year’s Helitech will be “the largest yet,” according to Hyde. He hopes the 65 first-timers that exhibited at Helitech 2014 in Amsterdam will return. The last time the show was held in London it gathered a record number of 220 exhibitors.
Flying in to the show will be possible again for exhibitors, and they will also be allowed to conduct demonstration flights. Visitors wishing to fly in, however, will have to land at a nearby airport or heliport and then use ground transportation arranged by Helitech.
Other services at the show will include a new mobile app, which will also be useful before and after the show, Hyde said. A website feature will enable setting up meetings. Finally, all exhibitors are offered a free public-relations service through CMS Strategic.