CBTA in aviation stands for Competency-Based Training and Assessment. It is a training approach that develops and assesses pilots against defined competencies rather than focusing only on isolated maneuvers or scripted events.
In practical terms, CBTA asks a simple but demanding question: can a pilot mobilize the right knowledge, skills, and attitudes when the situation changes?
CBTA is now an important part of the conversation across airline training departments, regulators, OEMs, and training organizations. At the same time, the terminology can make the subject difficult to navigate. Between ICAO guidance, EBT, competency frameworks, instructor grading, and implementation roadmaps, it can quickly become more technical than practical.
In this guide, we bring these elements together and explain the ICAO framework from a practical perspective, including what CBTA means for pilots, instructors, and airlines.
CBTA in aviation is a structured way to train and assess pilots against the competencies required for safe and effective aircraft operations. Rather than looking only at whether a pilot completed a task correctly, CBTA considers the behaviors behind that performance.
Ultimately, it provides evidence that helps instructors understand how a pilot communicates, manages workload, applies procedures, maintains situational awareness, controls the flight path, and makes decisions under pressure.
The global reference for CBTA is ICAO’s Procedures for Air Navigation Services: Training, also known as PANS-TRG Doc 9868. ICAO states that PANS-TRG contains material for the uniform implementation of competency-based training and assessment.
ICAO’s competency-based training material also explains how the approach can help aviation entities identify performance gaps, define the steps needed to develop competency-based training, and build training programs aligned with required performance outcomes.
The important distinction is that CBTA is not simply a general training philosophy. It is a structured approach built around data, defined competencies, observable behaviors, and assessment evidence.
To understand CBTA in practice, it helps to consider how it changes the focus of traditional training.
Traditional training often prepares pilots for a range of predefined tasks and expected situations. CBTA takes a different approach. It develops a defined set of competencies so pilots can apply them across a wider range of situations, including those they have not encountered before.
This changes the purpose of training. The objective is not simply to produce pilots who can reproduce an exercise correctly. It is to develop pilots who can transfer effective behaviors across different operational contexts.
Put simply, CBTA is not only about preparing a pilot to perform a specific exercise. It is about developing the competencies needed to respond effectively when a situation does not unfold as rehearsed.
CBTA and traditional training differ in how they approach performance and assessment. Traditional training may focus heavily on task completion, while CBTA uses tasks and scenarios as opportunities to observe and develop the competencies that underpin performance.
Consider a classic simulator example: a V1 engine failure. In a traditional model, the crew may repeat the exercise until the procedure is performed to standard. If a callout is missed or an action is delayed, the scenario may be flown again until that specific error is corrected.
CBTA goes a step further by asking whether the same underlying weakness could affect the crew in a different abnormal situation.
If the root issue is communication, workload management, or situational awareness, repeating the same V1 cut may not be enough. The crew may simply remember the correction for that particular scenario without developing the underlying competency.
The focus is therefore not simply on whether the crew got it right on one occasion. It is on whether the pilot has developed the competency needed to perform effectively when the context changes.
The ICAO CBTA competency framework gives instructors a common language for observing, assessing, and developing pilot performance. These competencies provide a structured basis for moving beyond personal impression toward evidence-based assessment.
The commonly used pilot competency framework includes:
ICAO training material identifies Doc 9868 PANS-TRG as the reference basis for competency-based training and assessment, including the teaching techniques, oversight concepts, and implementation principles used in CBTA.
The framework also addresses an important question for pilots: does CBTA reduce the importance of manual flying?
No. Flight path management appears twice, once for automation and once for manual control. CBTA does not remove technical flying from the assessment. Instead, it places technical flying within a broader operational performance framework.
No. CBTA is the wider training and assessment approach, while EBT, or Evidence-Based Training, is a data-driven application of CBTA principles, used in recurrent training.
A simple way to understand the distinction is that EBT is aligned with CBTA principles, but CBTA extends beyond EBT. ICAO’s PANS-TRG includes provisions for competency-based training and assessment, as well as provisions related to evidence-based training in recurrent training using flight simulation training devices. Additionally, ICAO also has a dedicated document for EBT, which gives a more detailed overview on its implementation.
For airlines, this distinction is important. CBTA can inform type rating, instructor training, command upgrade, and ATO course design, while EBT is more specifically associated with recurrent training and the use of operational data.
CBTA can be misunderstood when it is viewed through the lens of traditional training methods. This can make the approach seem softer, more subjective, or more complicated than it is. In practice, CBTA provides a structured framework for observing and developing the competencies that influence pilot performance.
CBTA is not personality assessment or personality grading. It assesses observable behaviors linked to defined competencies.
An instructor is not judging who the pilot is as a person. Instead, the instructor assesses what the pilot does, says, prioritizes, misses, detects, and corrects during a training event. As we discuss in our Training Standard podcast series, these behaviors must be observable, standardized, and connected to the competency framework.
CBTA does not make pilots less technical. Manual flight path management remains an explicit competency, while automation management is assessed separately.
CBTA recognizes that effective pilot performance requires both technical and non-technical competencies. Pilots must be able to fly the aircraft effectively, manage automation appropriately, communicate clearly, make sound decisions, and maintain situational awareness. Rather than choosing between technical and non-technical skills, CBTA brings them together within a single assessment framework.
Consistency in assessment is an important consideration, particularly for instructors. If two instructors observe the same simulator session, their assessments need to be based on the same defined behaviors and competency standards.
CBTA addresses this through behavioral observation, instructor standardization, and concordance programs that help align how instructors observe, record, classify and assess performance. At Simaero, our CBTA services include Instructor Concordance Assurance Programs, where instructors can compare evaluations and recalibrate their interpretation of behavioral markers.
The objective is not to remove professional judgment from training. It is to make assessments more consistent, evidence-based, and explainable.
A CBTA transition does not have to happen all at once. Airlines can begin with instructor awareness, instructor calibration, or a gap analysis before moving into broader course redesign.
Experience is what you have seen before. Competence is what allows you to handle what you have never seen.
This distinction is particularly important in aviation, where pilots can encounter new combinations of weather, technical issues, time pressure, crew dynamics, and operational constraints. Experience provides valuable knowledge, but competency allows pilots to apply that knowledge when circumstances change.
CBTA connects training with the competencies, performance data, and operational outcomes that matter to airlines. Rather than viewing training as a series of isolated exercises, CBTA provides a framework for identifying performance gaps and using that information to make training more targeted.
For airlines considering a move toward CBTA, the value therefore extends beyond the training event itself. A competency-based approach can provide a more structured way to understand pilot performance and identify where training can be improved.
In most jurisdictions, CBTA is not universally mandatory. However, its adoption and integration into aviation training continues to develop across regulators, airlines, OEMs, and training organizations.
In Episode 5 of Simaero’s Training Standard podcast, we discuss how the question for airlines extends beyond immediate compliance. As regulators, OEMs, training organizations, and operators move toward shared competency frameworks and data-driven training approaches, airlines also need to consider how their training systems align with these developments.
IATA has also described CBTA as expanding across regulations and the aviation industry, with States, airlines, and training organizations increasingly using competency-based approaches to develop a competent pilot workforce.
One of the key benefits of CBTA is its ability to help airlines look beyond the symptoms of a safety issue and investigate the underlying competency gap.
For example, if an airline identifies an increase in go-arounds associated with unstable approaches, a competency-based approach can help the training team ask more targeted questions:
By connecting these sources of information with competency-based assessment, airlines can create a continuous improvement loop between safety data, operational data, training, assessment, and performance.
The operational benefits are also important. Traditional type rating training may prepare pilots to begin line training, but that does not necessarily mean they will become operationally effective as quickly as possible. CBTA shifts the focus from simply passing a training phase to developing the competencies required for the pilot's actual operational role.
This can support more targeted use of instructor resources, more focused recurrent training, and a more structured approach to developing operational readiness.
CBTA does not shortcut the pilot training pipeline or qualify pilots before they are ready.
What it can do is provide a more structured way to identify competency gaps earlier and more consistently. Airlines can use this information to identify where a pilot may need additional support before the issue becomes more significant later in training, during line release, or during command upgrade.
A more targeted approach can also help airlines make better use of training resources by focusing support where it is most needed, rather than allowing an unresolved competency gap to progress through the training pipeline.
The starting point for CBTA transition depends on the airline's existing training environment. A legacy recurrent program, a Mixed EBT environment, and an ATO preparing CBTA type rating courses will not necessarily require the same approach.
A practical starting point is a gap analysis:
From there, the transition can be phased to include instructor awareness, instructor calibration, competency framework mapping, course redesign, data capture, and broader integration.
Some airlines may already have elements of the CBTA philosophy within their existing training practices. Experienced instructors and training leaders may already be applying competency-based principles informally. In these cases, the transition may involve creating greater structure and consistency around practices that are already in place.
CBTA is supported by major aviation organizations and aircraft manufacturers. ICAO provides the global training reference through PANS-TRG Doc 9868, while IATA encourages States and the industry to implement CBTA for aviation personnel throughout the career path. Moreover, they also produce white papers to provide a more practical approach towards its application and implementation.
Boeing positions flight competency-based training and assessment as part of the move from legacy task-based instruction toward data-driven training that develops resilient pilots. Boeing describes CBTA as focusing on observable, measurable competencies that reflect real-world performance, with CBTA and EBT together supporting a more adaptive training environment.
Airbus was one of the first adopter of the competency-based training approach. Airbus describes a move away from traditional task-based training toward an adaptable, data-driven, competency-based approach and states that its pilot curriculum, including type rating courses, has been updated to international ICAO CBTA standards.
These developments show how competency-based approaches are being incorporated across the aviation training industry and why CBTA is becoming an increasingly important part of the conversation around pilot training.
CBTA transition is most effective when it reflects the airline's actual training environment. Fleet structure, instructor culture, regulatory readiness, operational constraints, and internal capabilities can all influence how an airline approaches the transition.
At Simaero our CBTA and EBT services support airlines and training organizations with CBTA and EBT programs across the transition process. This can include gap analysis, course design, instructor standardization, ICAP support, tool data packages, course materials, and implementation support.
When working with an airline on CBTA transition, we look beyond the question of which training solution to implement. We consider where the current training system is today, what the relevant authority requires, what the operation needs, and how much internal capability the organization wants to develop over time.
CBTA stands for Competency-Based Training and Assessment. It is a training and assessment approach that develops and evaluates defined competencies using observable performance standards.
CBTA in aviation applies competency-based training and assessment to aviation roles, including pilots, instructors, and other operational personnel. For pilots, it focuses on the technical and non-technical competencies needed for safe and effective aircraft operations.
The ICAO pilot competency framework includes nine core competencies:
These competencies provide a common framework for observing, assessing, and developing pilot performance.
CBTA is not universally mandatory across all jurisdictions. However, competency-based approaches are increasingly supported and implemented across the aviation industry. IATA, for example, describes CBTA as expanding across regulations and the industry and promotes its use across the pilot training pathway.
Whether CBTA is required, recommended, or being introduced as part of a broader training transition depends on the applicable regulatory framework and the airline or training organization's operating environment.
CBTA is the broader competency-based training and assessment approach. Evidence-Based Training (EBT) applies CBTA principles alongside operational data to identify and prioritize relevant training scenarios in recurrent training.
The two approaches are complementary rather than interchangeable.
CBTA changes the focus of pilot training from simply completing individual tasks to developing the competencies pilots need to perform effectively across different operational situations.
For pilots, this means training that prepares them to apply their knowledge, skills and attitude when situations do not unfold exactly as rehearsed. For instructors, it provides a structured framework for observing performance, identifying underlying competency gaps, and delivering more focused feedback. For airlines, it provides a way to connect training, assessment, operational data, and performance more effectively.
At Simaero, we help airlines and training organizations navigate CBTA and EBT implementation based on their operational environment, training needs, and transition objectives.
To learn more, explore our CBTA and EBT services or listen to The Training Standard podcast for further discussion on CBTA and its practical application in aviation training.
Simaero is a world-leading provider of pilot training on full-flight simulators and simulation engineering solutions. In global aviation, change is a constant. We promise to be a straightforward and continual presence in the complex training requirements of international airlines and pilots. With five training centres strategically located in France (headquarters), South Africa, China and India, Simaero trains over 5,000 pilots every year from 250+ civil and military carriers and 80+ countries. Our simulator fleet and training solutions cover the main commercial aircraft types, including Airbus, Boeing, ATR, and Embraer.
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