Historically, with the exception of the air wing, the armed forces have been poorly trained and suffered from low morale. Beginning in the late 1980s, the government began to establish a military training infrastructure. On May 16, 1987, the first noncommissioned officers (NCOs) passed through a three-month refresher course at the SPDF NCO Training School. At the graduation ceremony, Chief of Staff James Michel told the NCOs that a new career development program would give each of them "an equal opportunity to develop his career and rise up the promotion scale to the highest ranks." On May 7, 1988, the SPDF, supported by the People's Militia, conducted a simulated offensive at the Grand Police Military Training Center. The troops covered offensive and defensive military tactics, weapons training, field communications and engineering, first aid, map reading, and other military subjects. On June 2, 1990, officials opened the Seychelles Defence Academy, which provided training courses for the SPDF, the People's Militia, and the police. Despite these efforts, the SPLA and the navy wing have failed to improve their capabilities. Personnel suffer from low morale, poor qualifications, and ineffective combat skills.
The air wing, however, shows a relatively high degree of professionalism. All pilots receive training in the Cessna A-150 before moving on to the Britten-Norman. After building up the requisite number of flying hours and obtaining the necessary commercial licenses, most pilots are seconded to the national airline, Air Seychelles. Some pilots are assigned to the Seychelles government, which operates one Cessna Citation and one Cessna Caravan II as passenger and light transport aircraft.
Data as of August 1994