Our response to the Covid-19 Coronavirus outbreak

COVID-19 Social Isolation during training

Updated 07/07/2020

Staffing

we now have improved staffing levels again so course administration is back to normal. The office phone is still on voicemail only at present, so please leave a message or send an email and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Theory courses

Theory training has resumed at some locations but we are limiting course numbers as appropriate to the location in order to maintain social isolation distances. Food and refreshments may not be able to be provided at all of our locations. Please check before your course.

In terms of theory courses, we may cancel theory courses at short notice in line with government recommendations, for example if there are localised lockdowns or in the event of a “second peak”. We are now running some elements of theory training online. Please coantact us if you are unsure about how much contact your course entails.

Practical training and assessment

Practical training has now resumed at most locations in England. In Wales and Scotland we are adhering to government guidance regarding travel.

Our instructors will use their own discretion to decide whether it is appropriate for them to meet for an assessment. Social distancing will be maintained. We will avoid contact with drone equipment, but during training and assessment, some contact may be unavoidable, particularly in emergency situations. In case of contact, good sanitation and cleaning of contact surfaces is essential.

We will try to give you as much notice as possible of cancellations. Please don’t attend your assessment if you or your household are exhibiting symptoms for which the government recommend isolation. We also won’t be offended or make any additional charges (unless an instructor has already had to travel) if you wish to postpone or reschedule.

Hopefully, things will return to normal in due course. Thank you for your continued support.

If you’d like us to keep you in the loop about anything drone-related, including the upcoming regulation changes, please sign up for our FREE membership and then choose the notifications you would like to receive under “my account”. You don’t need a free membership if you already hold a Pro membership or have registered for a course.

Implications for the broader drone sector

In some ways, drone operators are less likely to be impacted than other workers as we often require no direct contact with clients at any point of service delivery. By the nature of drones, we acquire data remotely and then tend to process it before delivering the output electronically. As a result, I think we will see little impact on some lines of work unless travel restrictions are tightened. I think the creative side of things is most likely to be impacted as you are more likely to be working as part of a bigger team.