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Air France and the TOEIC Listening and Reading test

Air France requires its future Airbus A320 pilots to take the TOEIC Listening and Reading test.

In January 2018, Air France launched a new 24-month training programme for future Airbus A320 pilots. This programme, called the "Air France Cadets", is funded by the airline and is open to candidates with a baccalaureate degree.

To apply, Air France defined a list of criteria to be met, and indicated in its announcement that a "good level of English was required, and that it should be certified by a minimum score of 850 on the TOEIC® Listening and Reading test obtained over the past two years. »

"The purpose of this training programme is to support the company's growth, which involves recruiting new pilots," said Didier Nicolini, HR Director Pilot at Air France to Le Figaro. The airline plans to recruit between 200 and 250 airline pilots per year until 2022. For this first training session, the Air France Human Resources Department plans to "receive approximately 3,000 applications".

"More and more French companies are now aligning themselves with the practices of other international companies requiring a certain TOEIC score in their hiring criteria. This is obviously the case with Air France," explains Laurence Carlinet, Director France ETS Global. "Air France is recognised worldwide for the excellence of its pilots, crews and staff, and has relied on TOEIC tests for many years. The correlation between TOEIC scores and the CEFR allowed Air France to accurately determine the minimum level of English required to be recruited as an Air France Cadet!" 

Air France's use of the TOEIC score as a recruitment tool has had a positive impact on the number of TOEIC test registrations in France. In addition, Air France's recognition of the test will increase the reputation of the TOEIC test in France and around the world. Applications for the "Air France Cadets" programme are open until the end of March 2018, and the first training session will begin in April 2018.