Sky's the limit amid aerial drone, license demand

With widespread application of drones in different areas and government regulations increasingly expanding licensed usage, there has been a growing demand in the training industry to churn out skilled operators to fly the aerial devices.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the country had a total of more than 1.87 million licensed aerial drones as of June, with almost 608,000 being newly licensed in the first half of this year alone.

Meanwhile, only 225,000 people currently have licenses to operate drones, which leaves a large shortage of authorized operators in the country.

Li Chunlin, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a recent news conference that there is a shortage of about 1 million licensed drone operators in the country.

According to the regulation by the State Council and the Central Military Commission on unmanned drones — which took effect on Jan 1 — apart from mini or light drones, all other types of drones must be flown by operators with flying licenses issued by the CAAC.

The shortfall has prompted the rapid development of training and tutoring services in the sector.

Dong Jiamin, president of Xiaoxiang Yongxiang, a drone training and applications company in Yongzhou, Hunan province, said the number of people signing up to get drone operating licenses has witnessed a major increase this year.

The company has trained 400 to 500 candidates so far this year, while in previous years, there were only about 200 per year.

Established in 2017, the company has training bases in five different cities in Hunan and it takes trainees to Zhuzhou Lusong Airport — the only A1, or highest-level general aviation airport in the province — to take the tests every month.

"I believe drones are the future and they have been used in more than 100 scenarios, so the prospects are very promising," said Dong.

People are required to have 44 hours of training to get drone-flying licenses for distances under 500 meters, 56 hours for longer distances and 100 hours of training to obtain instructor licenses, he said.

It is very easy to get the license and as long as they take the 17-21 day training sessions at the company, they are almost guaranteed to acquire authorization, he added.

Meanwhile, drones have been widely used in different scenarios such as agriculture, forestry, video production, power grid inspection, geological surveying and protection of flora and fauna, so that people who have obtained licenses have a wide range of career options, Dong said, adding that instructors at the company are paid around 12,000 yuan ($1,684) per month and licensed trainees can sometimes get 30,000 yuan per month, depending on the industries they work in, so it is also a lucrative career.

"As a drone lover and industry worker, it is my hope and belief that the industry can have a brighter future."

His optimism is also shared by Liu Xin, general manager of Hunan Sikai Aviation Technology Co, in Zhuzhou.

The company has witnessed a 50 percent year-on-year increase in the number of trainees this year, said Liu. The potential of the low-altitude economy, the widening application of drones and more transparent government regulations are the major reasons for their popularity, he said.

People come to take the courses mainly for employment in drone-related sectors and as applications further broaden, the training market will grow even bigger, Liu said.