Narrative:

We were dispatched with an inoperative APU generator. We considered refusing the airplane for the all-night flight; but based on the weather conditions and our route we felt safe with this deferred item. Obviously; the deferred APU generator required a gate start. More than 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure; we were ready to go; and the push crew informed us that once we had the proper air pressure; we could start an engine. I relayed that we had APU air and did not need external air. Ramp unplugged the air; and we waited about 5 minutes before I realized the push crew was ready again. I was very puzzled when the ramp person once again told me that as soon as we had proper air pressure; they were ready for start. I mentioned we had this conversation 5 minutes earlier and that we did not need the air. The air was already disconnected; so I was even more puzzled when the ramp person told me he was going to tell the other ramp personnel to disconnect the air. He immediately left.we went completely dark; because they instead disconnected the electrics. I opened the window and had them reconnect. I don't think our push crew understood any of this and it was not until a few mechanics appeared that we got power again. The strange conversations did not end here. I told the push crew that due to the electric interruptions; most of our route and performance entries were dumped and had to be reinitialized. I estimated 5 minutes. Once we were done; to my amazement; the push crew asked again if he could disconnect the power! This is when I fully understood the nature of this problem. Clearly our ramp people that have been put in charge of pushbacks; gate starts and marshalling are woefully poorly trained. I cannot blame a ramp person who cannot be expected to know all the details of jet engines; and who has clearly not been trained properly to do his job.I got confirmation of the lacking training when I asked if the ramp behind my engine was clear and if we were ready to start. The push person told me to wait for the wing walkers! I had to explain that we were not ready to push; and that the jetway would be hooked up until the engine was started and the external electrics could be disconnected. I shudder to think of the much worse scenario we could have faced if the ramp people would have tried disconnecting the electric power while in the middle of the start sequence. There was little situational awareness about the safety around an engine starting or any knowledge about what actually gets a jet engine started.shame on [this company] for taking shortcuts in training our ramp people properly. We have had so many serious issues with lacking skills when ramp personnel are marshalling airplanes to the gate. We rarely; if ever; saw this when our mechanics took care of these duties. It is not my place to decide what employee group handles our airplanes when we are in close proximity to the boarding gates. It is however my concern and gets my attention when the safety of my flight is impacted by the obvious lacking training our ramp personnel is exposed to.I will add that the attitude of the push person was highly accommodating and cooperative. He was extremely apologetic for any misunderstandings. This is why I conclude that his training was so lacking that he associated a gate start strictly with an external air cart;and had no understanding of the additional need for electric power.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B757 Captain reported multiple deviations from SOP from ground personnel when attempting an engine start at the gate with an inoperative APU.

Narrative: We were dispatched with an inoperative APU generator. We considered refusing the airplane for the all-night flight; but based on the weather conditions and our route we felt safe with this deferred item. Obviously; the deferred APU generator required a gate start. More than 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure; we were ready to go; and the push crew informed us that once we had the proper air pressure; we could start an engine. I relayed that we had APU air and did not need external air. Ramp unplugged the air; and we waited about 5 minutes before I realized the push crew was ready again. I was very puzzled when the ramp person once again told me that as soon as we had proper air pressure; they were ready for start. I mentioned we had this conversation 5 minutes earlier and that we did not need the air. The air was already disconnected; so I was even more puzzled when the ramp person told me he was going to tell the other ramp personnel to disconnect the air. He immediately left.We went completely dark; because they instead disconnected the electrics. I opened the window and had them reconnect. I don't think our push crew understood any of this and it was not until a few mechanics appeared that we got power again. The strange conversations did not end here. I told the push crew that due to the electric interruptions; most of our route and performance entries were dumped and had to be reinitialized. I estimated 5 minutes. Once we were done; to my amazement; the push crew asked again if he could disconnect the power! This is when I fully understood the nature of this problem. Clearly our ramp people that have been put in charge of pushbacks; gate starts and marshalling are woefully poorly trained. I cannot blame a ramp person who cannot be expected to know all the details of jet engines; and who has clearly not been trained properly to do his job.I got confirmation of the lacking training when I asked if the ramp behind my engine was clear and if we were ready to start. The push person told me to wait for the wing walkers! I had to explain that we were NOT ready to push; and that the jetway would be hooked up until the engine was started and the external electrics could be disconnected. I shudder to think of the much worse scenario we could have faced if the ramp people would have tried disconnecting the electric power while in the middle of the start sequence. There was little situational awareness about the safety around an engine starting or any knowledge about what actually gets a jet engine started.Shame on [this Company] for taking shortcuts in training our ramp people properly. We have had so many serious issues with lacking skills when ramp personnel are marshalling airplanes to the gate. We rarely; if ever; saw this when our mechanics took care of these duties. It is not my place to decide what employee group handles our airplanes when we are in close proximity to the boarding gates. It is however my concern and gets my attention when the safety of my flight is impacted by the obvious lacking training our ramp personnel is exposed to.I will add that the attitude of the push person was highly accommodating and cooperative. He was extremely apologetic for any misunderstandings. This is why I conclude that his training was so lacking that he associated a gate start strictly with an external air cart;and had no understanding of the additional need for electric power.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.