JAL Reminds the World of the Importance of Regular Staff Training

Sadly, real training has been neglected in the software development industry for a long time, especially test automation.

On 2024–01-02, A Japan Airlines (JAL) plane collided with a coast guard aircraft and caught fire at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, but everyone on the JAL flight — 367 passengers and 12 crew members — made it out safely. Many world media described this achievement as a “Miracle”.

“Miracle at Haneda: how cabin crew pulled off great escape from Japan plane fire” — The Guardian

“‘It was a miracle’: How passengers escaped a JAL fireball in Tokyo” — Reuters

Soon, additional information became available. It is NOT a miracle, but rather a product of training.

https://qz.com/japan-airlines-great-evacuation-is-no-miracle-its-a-pro-1851135502

“Everyone onboard the Japanese airliner — crew members and passengers — followed the process for a textbook 90-second evacuation.”

“According to JAL, crews train once a year to be able to evacuate passengers within 90 seconds. …. Emergency evacuation guidance has been repeatedly revised based on lessons from past airplane accidents.”

This reminds the world of the importance of regular staff training.

• The JAL Senior Management are Serious about Training, not just talking.

• Regular
  all JAL crew members need to attend one-day yearly training

• Practical, Hands-on with Verification
  The crew members who failed to pass would get suspended for flying.

• Update to date content (repeatedly revised)

The software industry did very poorly on this matter.

I have worked as a software developer and test automation engineer for over 20 years. In my early career, I received and observed staff training at least once a year, not just work-related tech skills, but also general ones such as writing, presentation, and time management.

I remember one HR manager saying, “There is a yearly training budget for an employee”.

Not sure since when, the training in the software industry has become:

• Less and less regular, until nearly none

• More abstract

Two reasons I can think of: