EWIS training target groups 1 to 8 explained: who needs what

What are the eight EWIS target groups in AMC 20-22?

AMC 20-22 sorts everyone working on or near aircraft wiring into eight EWIS target groups. Target Group 1 & 2 — EWIS maintenance and inspection staff — have the direct regulatory requirement and the Appendix A syllabus. Groups 3 to 8 follow Appendix B, with no direct regulatory requirement. Training repeats in a period not exceeding two years.

It all comes from one short document: AMC 20-22, “Aeroplane Electrical Wiring Interconnection System Training Programme”, in the EASA Easy Access Rules for AMC-20 — eight sections and three appendices, and the reason EWIS training is described by target group rather than by course name.

Why is there an EWIS training programme at all?

Section 7 gives the history: wiring found contaminated with dust, metal shavings, lavatory waste water and coffee, and damaged collaterally by work on other systems. AMC 20-22 captures, in EASA guidance form, the EWIS training programme developed by the Aging Transport Systems Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ATSRAC). Section 2 states what it is for:

“This AMC has been published in order to provide the approved organisations with acceptable means of compliance to comply with their training obligations as required in paragraphs 21.A.145 and 21.A.245 of Part-21, 145.A.30 and 145.A.35 of Part-145 and M.A.706 of Part-M with respect to EWIS.” — AMC 20-22, section 2

For a maintenance organisation the route in is 145.A.30(e), through AMC5 145.A.30(e), “Other trainings”:

“(a) The organisation should assess the need for particular trainings, for example with regard to the ‘Electrical Wiring Interconnection System’ (EWIS) or ‘Critical Design Configuration Control Limitations’ (CDCCL). (b) Guidance on EWIS training programme for maintenance organisation personnel is provided in AMC 20-22.” — AMC5 145.A.30(e)

Two things follow. The organisation assesses the need — nobody hands you a list. Where the need exists, AMC 20-22 is the acceptable means of meeting it. GM2 145.A.30(e) reinforces it: in its table of competency assessment elements, “Knowledge of EWIS when relevant” is marked in every job-function column, from managers and planners to mechanics and safety management personnel.

Who is in each target group?

Section 2 sets the sorting rule before it lists them:

“This programme was developed for eight different target groups and may be used for the minimum requirements for initial and recurrent training (see training matrix). Depending on the duties, some may fall into more than one target group and, therefore, must fulfil all objectives of the associated target groups.” — AMC 20-22, section 2

The eight groups, with the examples the AMC itself gives and the appendix holding each syllabus:

Group	AMC 20-22 description	Examples the AMC gives	Syllabus
1	Qualified staff performing EWIS maintenance	Avionics skilled workers or technicians cat B2	Appendix A
2	Qualified staff performing maintenance inspections on wiring systems	Inspectors/technicians cat B2	Appendix A
3	Qualified staff performing electrical/avionic engineering on in-service aeroplane	Electrical/avionic engineers authorised to design EWIS installations, modifications and repairs	Appendix B
4	Qualified staff performing general maintenance/inspections not involving wire maintenance (an LRU change is not wire maintenance)	Inspectors/technicians cat A or B1	Appendix B
5	Qualified staff performing other engineering or planning work on in-service aeroplane	Staff authorised to design mechanical or structural installations and repairs, or to plan maintenance tasks	Appendix B
6	Other service staff with duties in proximity to electrical wiring interconnection systems	Aeroplane cleaners, cargo loaders, fuellers, lavatory servicing, de-icing and push back staff	Appendix B
7	Flight deck crew	Pilots, flight engineers	Appendix B
8	Cabin crew	—	Appendix B

Read the definitions as descriptions of work, not job titles. The same B2 engineer can sit in Target Group 1 for the wiring repairs they carry out and in Target Group 2 for the inspections they sign, and section 2 then requires all objectives of both. A planner who never touches an aeroplane sits in Target Group 5 because, as section 2 puts it, “some people prepare paperwork that guides mechanics”.

Which target groups have a regulatory requirement?

Only the first two, and AMC 20-22 says so in as many words:

“The training syllabus and curriculum for those personnel directly involved in the maintenance and inspection of EWIS, identified as Target Group 1 and 2, are in Appendix A and C to this AMC. […] Although there is no direct regulatory requirement for EWIS training of these personnel, operators may choose to provide EWIS training. The training syllabus and curriculum for these personnel, identified as Target Groups 3 through 8, are in Appendix B and C to this AMC.” — AMC 20-22, section 2

That is why almost every commercially available EWIS course is sold as “Target Group 1 & 2”: it is the pair with the regulatory hook. The AMC does not treat the rest as safety-optional — it argues that training Groups 3 to 8 “would greatly enhance awareness of the importance of EWIS safety in the overall safe operation of aeroplanes”. But the choice is the organisation’s, and you record it in the exposition.

What does initial training cover for Target Group 1 & 2?

Appendix A is a matrix of 42 numbered subjects in seven lettered sections — A, general EWIS practices; B, wiring practices documentation; C, inspection; D, housekeeping; E, wire; F, connective devices; G, connective device repair — with a column for Group 1 and one for Group 2. Group 1 takes 39 of the 42 subjects; Group 2 takes 29 and no part of section G. The differences are the useful part:

• Group 1 only. Tools, special tools and equipment; verifying calibration and certification of instruments, tools and equipment; wiring checks using the troubleshooting procedures and charts; measurement and troubleshooting using meters. From section D: contamination protection planning, protection during maintenance and repair, and cleaning processes. And the whole of section G — circular and rectangular connectors, modular and non-modular terminal blocks, grounding modules and pressure seals.
• Group 2 only. Human factors in inspection — which the maintainer’s column does not carry — zonal areas of inspection, and inspection criteria and standards for wire and wire bundles.
• Both groups. Safety practices, ESDS handling and LRU replacement; the whole documentation section; inspection types and their criteria; wiring system damage; the three contamination-source subjects; wire identification, insulation damage limits, bundle installation, typical damage, repair procedures, sleeving, unused wires, bonding and grounds; and the five connective-device subjects in section F.

What do Target Groups 3 to 8 actually receive?

Appendix B reuses the same subject numbers across six columns:

• Group 3, electrical and avionic engineering: the widest Appendix B syllabus — the whole documentation section, the whole wire section, the whole connective-devices section and the three housekeeping protection subjects, but no inspection section and no section G.
• Group 4, general maintenance not involving wire: safety practices, ESDS handling, LRU replacement, inspection types and criteria, wiring system damage, all six housekeeping subjects, typical damage and areas found, and bonding and grounds (marked “Bond”).
• Group 5, other engineering and planning: inspection types and criteria, human factors in inspection, zonal areas of inspection, wiring system damage, the three housekeeping protection subjects, typical damage and areas found, and bonding and grounds.
• Group 6, service staff working near wiring: safety practices, the three contamination-source subjects and cleaning processes, plus wiring system damage and typical damage areas at “low level”.
• Groups 7 and 8, flight deck and cabin crew: safety practices, the three contamination-source subjects, and the same two damage subjects at “low level”.

“Low level” is Appendix B’s own marking, and it describes what these groups need: enough to recognise that a wire bundle is not a handhold and a spilled drink is a maintenance issue — not a course in wiring repair.

How often does EWIS training repeat?

Section 8 sets the interval at two years:

“Refresher Training. Refresher training should be conducted in a period not exceeding two years. It could consist of a review of previously covered material plus any new material or revisions to publications. Refresher training will follow the EWIS Minimum Initial Training Programme - Appendix A or B for that particular target group.” — AMC 20-22, section 8(b)

Three points follow. Continuation training uses the same appendix as the initial course, so a Target Group 1 continuation course still has to reach the Appendix A objectives for Group 1. It may be a review plus what has changed, which is why continuation courses are shorter. And “a period not exceeding two years” is a rolling window from the last course, not a calendar anniversary — the continuation due-date tool does that arithmetic. Keep the EWIS date on its own line: the human factors cycle and the fuel tank safety cycle run independently.

Can EWIS training be delivered online?

Section 8(a) is permissive about method and firm about outcome:

“The most important criteria are to meet the objectives of the Lesson Plans – Appendix C (using classroom discussion, computer-based training or hands-on practical training). Assessment or achieving the objectives should be at the discretion of the training organisation (such as written test, oral test or demonstration of skills).” — AMC 20-22, section 8(a)

Computer-based training is named, and the assessment format is the training organisation’s call. What is not negotiable is the Appendix C objectives, written as “know or demonstrate”. Appendix C also says what each module needs in the room — Module E wants examples of wire discrepancies made available to the student — and Module G is blunt:

“This class is primarily a hands-on class to give the student motor skills in the repair of connective devices from their aeroplane.” — AMC 20-22, Appendix C, Module G, Strategies

Module G is a Group 1 module only. A screen-based course can therefore carry a Target Group 2 programme a long way, and most of Target Group 1, but the section G objectives — demonstrating replacement on circular and rectangular connectors, terminal blocks, grounding modules and pressure seals — need hardware and a supervised bench. The usual answer is blended: theory online, section G assessed on the shop floor under the exposition’s own competency procedure per AMC4 145.A.30(e). Our guide on whether online training is accepted sets out how that decision is made.

What should the training record show?

Name the target group. A certificate that says only “EWIS training” cannot be mapped to a syllabus, and mapping is what an audit asks for: record the group or groups, the appendix, the assessment method, the completion date and the next due date.

Related courses. MOST.AERO does not yet run an EWIS course: EWIS Target Group 1 & 2 – Initial and EWIS Target Group 1 & 2 – Continuation are coming soon, and we will tell you when they go live. Meanwhile the continuation due-date tool tracks the two-year interval, and Part-145 Safety Training including Human Factors — Initial covers the separate safety training obligation that the same staff carry under 145.A.30(e).