Coptrz, the world’s first and only company offering continuous personal development to drone pilots, has been awarded the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) National Qualified Entity (NQE) status.
This entitles the company to deliver CAA-approved training to potential drone pilots, including both a theory and a practical test.
Only drone pilots with a CAA-certified qualification may obtain the Permission for Commercial Operations (PfCO) from the CAA which enables them to work as professional drone pilots.
Unique offering
As well as basic drone training (the CAA PfCO training course), Coptrz is unique in the sector in offering courses aimed at helping drone pilots develop their businesses.
“Basic training is just the beginning,” says managing director Steve Coulson. “We believe that one certificate doesn’t set you up to be a drone pilot. That’s why we also offer training on all aspects of running a business: marketing, pricing strategy, making money from drones, and using specific software packages, plus specific jobs – such as surveying, 3D mapping, or using a drone to inspect the inside of a tank or a cellular tower.
“Now we have our accreditation, we’re looking to train 1,000 drone pilots in 2017 and have added new training dates in anticipation of great demand.”
Growth market
As well as helping to create new businesses and jobs for drone pilots, Coptrz is an industry success story in itself. It began trading in May 2016 and has since turned over around £1m.
The company currently employs seven people but is looking to double in the next few months, says Coulson. “We’ve got vacancies to take our number of employees to 15 across sales, customer service, technical and training. The commercial drone market will be worth US$127 billion worldwide by 2020. We’re fully confident that we can outperform the market and we expect to be in the Fast Track 100 in three years’ time.
Notes for editors
Coptrz began trading in May 2016 and was created by a group of experienced operators from the global shipping industry who realised the huge potential of drones to revolutionise numerous different sectors.
Coptrz is the world’s first and only company offering continuous personal development to drone pilots. As well as selling the very latest drones, it offers training packages tailored for both individuals and companies looking to continuously develop and expand their drone skills and businesses.
The company has experienced strong growth in its first year with a turnover of £1m.
According to consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the commercial drone market will be worth US$127 billion worldwide by 2020.
The picture shows a reflectance map of a field which is from a drone mapping with Pix4D software
