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Melvina Jones had hit the glass ceiling at Delta. After starting out at the airline 14 years ago as a part-time gate agent, Melvina eventually became a full-time customer service representative. But because she lacked a college degree, her options to rise further were limited.

Then Melvina entered a Delta apprenticeship program targeted at frontline workers interested in moving into corporate positions. Today, she’s an equity strategies specialist on Delta’s diversity, equity, and inclusion team.

Melvina is one of 99 Delta employees who in the last year and a half have transitioned from jobs like flight attendant, reservations specialist, and airport customer agent to corporate support careers in human resources, finance, data analytics, and other areas, thanks to Delta’s commitment to upskilling and internal mobility. 

In April of 2022, Delta launched two programs: an “earn while you learn” apprenticeship program where workers move into new roles and learn on the job, and the Delta Analytics Academy where employees take courses that prepare them for careers on Delta’s analytics team, which uses data analytics to improve the airline’s efficiency and operations. Both are providing accelerated opportunities for Delta’s frontline workers to transition into careers where they are able to apply their first-hand experience with Delta’s customers to shape corporate strategy, while increasing their earning potential.

“We wanted to figure out, what are the barriers that exist for moving more people into these opportunities,” Ashley Black, Delta’s managing director of equity strategies, said in an interview with LinkedIn vice president Aneesh Raman at an event organized by Jobs for the Future, a nonprofit focused on achieving equitable economic advancement for all.

Delta isn’t just teaching employees new skills. Both programs provide participants with more agency to decide for themselves how and where they want to enrich their careers. “Apprenticeships can really help not just accelerate upskilling,” says Brian Wright, director of global learning and leadership development at Delta, “but also accelerate mobility, if you do them correctly.”

Demand has been strong, with more than 3,000 Delta employees having applied for slots in the new programs to date. Among the criteria the company uses to evaluate prospective participants is their level of curiosity and excitement about learning new skills.

Pivoting to skills-first helps Delta pursue its equity mission

Delta’s new upskilling programs are part of the company’s larger efforts to adopt a skills-first approach to hiring and managing talent. Like a growing number of employers, the airline is focusing more on job candidates’ skills and less on educational pedigree when measuring potential success. 

In doing so, Delta is looking to advance equity in its workforce. At the end of 2020, Delta became a founding member of OneTen, a coalition of companies that have a common goal of hiring, training, and advancing 1 million Black Americans into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement by 2030.

The company set a target of staffing 25% of its corporate and management positions with employees who had previously worked in frontline roles, many of whom are from historically marginalized groups. Delta has already exceeded that goal, with 34% of its corporate and management roles now staffed with employees who used to work on the frontline.  

Delta recognizes that requiring four-year degrees for higher paying jobs has long held back individuals who may not have the chance to attend college. In the U.S., 76% of Black workers and 83% of Latinx workers don’t hold a four-year degree. By removing degree requirements and upskilling workers, Delta is closing the wealth and opportunity gap for underrepresented groups.

Offering upskilling and internal mobility opportunities affords other advantages. When an employer is highly committed to internal hiring, employees stay at that company 60% longer, according to LinkedIn’s 2023 Future of Recruiting report. Employers can also capitalize on the skills and experience workers gathered on the frontline as they move into new roles.

“Who is better to come into these roles than people who understand the operation?” Ashley said during her interview with Aneesh.

Coursework, mentors, on-the job training, and more

In designing its programs, Delta carefully considered the resources necessary for helping its people advance. When it came to training future analytics professionals at the Delta Analytics Academy, the airline chose to partner with Georgia State University (GSU) and together they developed a nine-month-long program. 

During the first part of their journey, participants stay in their current jobs and spend three to five hours per week taking courses on subjects like Excel and Python. They then spend time learning from members of Delta’s analytics learning and development team. After that, participants join Delta teams in full-time internships to apply what they’ve learned to real-life scenarios. Once they’ve completed the program, they receive a cobranded certificate from GSU and Delta and are guaranteed an interview for a permanent analytics job at the airline. 

With Delta’s “earn while you learn” apprenticeship program, applicants can choose to focus on such areas as human resources, finance, information technology, and operations. Those who are accepted, step into new roles on Day 1. 

The apprentices learn on the job from team leaders and receive additional training depending upon the type of apprenticeship they choose. Each is paired with a mentor. They also have access to executive coaches who advise them on making the transition from frontline jobs to corporate roles.

Lessons learned

Looking back on what Delta has learned so far, Brian cites three key takeaways. 

First, he says, it’s important to regularly gather feedback from participants and make changes along the way. 

Second, clearly communicate to employees what will be expected of them. 

Third, think carefully about what types of roles within your organization would make a good fit for an apprenticeship. An important consideration: What jobs and skills are most in demand at your company? That kind of thinking has led Delta to decide to focus more on apprenticeships related to tech, digital, and analytics in the future.

“Spend time,” Brian says, “really digging through what are the right roles in your organization that could benefit from an apprenticeship and how the apprentices can benefit themselves.”

Final thoughts

Embracing a skills-first approach to talent and successfully launching programs like Delta’s requires endorsement from the highest levels of an organization. 

Both Delta CEO Ed Bastian and Delta’s chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer Keyra Lynn Johnson are vocal supporters of skills-first and internal mobility programs. Ed made it a point to attend the graduation of the first group of employees to complete the Delta Analytics Academy.

“We have a chief DE&I officer who has really been an advocate for the work,” Ashley said in her talk with Aneesh, “and really has led the change management efforts, working closely with our CEO.”

“We have incredibly skilled, talented employees at Delta in our frontline who are just looking for opportunities to advance their career,” Ashley added. “We would love for that talent to have the ability to stay at Delta a long time and work in different functions and grow while also supporting our business.”

*Image by Yulia Gapeenko on Vecteezy.com

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