The great thing about being part of BALPA is that it’s a community, and within that community is a vast amount of expertise and knowledge.

From the pilots that make up the membership, to our 250-plus pilot reps and from the staff in head office to the numerous specialists we work with – we all bring unique knowledge to the table.

As well as the industrial expertise you might expect within a union, we also have access to people who specialise in legal issues, safety matters, scheduling, careers advice, communications and finance. We also have access to you our members… pilots from all backgrounds who can share their experience and knowledge of the industry.

And we are now launching a new way for members to engage in that community and access the knowledge they need from wherever they are in the world.

We are inviting members to be part of the ’BALPA Expert Webinar Series‘. We aim to hold regular discussions online on the topics you’ve told us matter to you.

Members will be able to join the webinar and get information and knowhow from BALPA’s experts. From advice on career building to help managing finances, whatever the topic, members will be able to log on, join in and access the expertise.

We will launch the series on Wednesday 28th March at 3pm with a webinar entitled ‘Piloting and Parenting: Understanding Maternity, Paternity and Parental Leave Rights.

This will be co-hosted by the BALPA NEC’s Captain Andrew Hammond (who also chairs BALPA’s Legal sub-committee) and Rosalie Snocken, a lawyer from Old Square Chambers who works in employment law and can give us an understanding of what rights you have when choosing to bring up a family. You can read more about Rosalie here.

The format of the webinar will be a 15 to 20 minute presentation followed by a question and answer session. To allow us to prepare fully for your questions, please feel free to submit them in advance to NancyJackson@balpa.org

You don’t need a webcam to join the session as all questions will be directed to our hosts via the webinar’s chat function. You just need a decent internet connection to ensure a smooth feed. If you plan on joining via a mobile or tablet device, you will need to download the ClickMeeting app from your device’s app store.

An email has already been sent to all members to allow them to register for the first webinar. If you have not recieved that email and wish to do so please email NancyJackson@balpa.org

This is just the first in our programme of webinars. A full list is below:

•    28th March 2018, 3pm: Piloting and Parenting: Understanding Maternity, Paternity and Parental Leave Rights.
•    April 2018: Career First Steps: From Training to a Job
•    11th June 2018: Pilots and Fatigue
•    July 2018: A Beginner’s Guide to Pensions
•    September 2018: Financial Planning Mid-Career
•    January 2019: Tackling Tax Returns

Please let us know if there are any topics you would be like us to focus on in the future.

We look forward to sharing the wealth of understanding, experience and information that BALPA has to offer.