We aim to fill at least 25% of our internal professional-level positions with diverse frontline talent, enabling transition into corporate career roles including business support or management positions.

Our equity-focused career development model emphasizes the value of skills and competencies over job histories and traditional degrees. Expanding our commitment to the OneTen coalition, in January 2022, we dropped our degree requirement for pilots following similar work we did in 2021 for our merit roles. While we work to catalog unique skills associated with specific roles, we have taken a more critical lens with job postings to ensure job requirements are clearer. Additionally, we expanded the usage of our internal “career talent profile” allowing our recruiters to search internal candidates by their experience and listed skills.

To complement our strategy, we launched our Skills-First Apprenticeship Program, which centers on hiring, developing and promoting people with relevant skills and experience for open roles within the company. Under the program, apprentices work full-time in an immersive “earn while you learn” experience, which concludes with a formal transition into a role on that team. Apprentices receive access to leadership support, mentor sessions and engagements to expand their knowledge while developing a personal brand.

We started the Delta Analytics Academy to address the demand for data analytics expertise. Together with Georgia State University (GSU), we offer a three-semester program for Delta Analytics Academy participants. Our inaugural class of Atlanta-based Delta employees will acquire the tools to enter the analytics field without traditional education or cost barriers. The academy begins with a virtual learning environment that allows students to remain in their current positions at Delta. Upon completion, graduates receive a co-branded certificate from GSU and Delta and a guaranteed interview for a full-time role in analytics within our enterprise. We offer several other programs tailored to specific skill sets and workgroups in conjunction with the apprenticeship program.

Through our Propel program, launched in 2018, Delta offers multiple pathways for qualified talent to enter the pilot profession. To date, over 100 participants have completed a pathway and are now flying for Delta, while another 700 pilots are currently enrolled in the program and working toward the same goal.

In early 2022, Delta announced that Hampton University would join the Propel Collegiate Pilot Career Path Program, the airline’s first such partnership with a historically Black university, and we added Elizabeth City State University to that effort in 2023.

Delta also announced in 2023 that through our Propel Pilot Career Path Program, we would launch our fourth pathway for aspiring pilots: a dedicated pilot training academy in partnership with Skyborne Airline Academy. Student pilots will be eligible to receive up to $20,000 from Delta in financial support. Delta will also cover the cost of interest on student loans from select lenders.

In 2022, we held the first class of our Delta Dispatch Academy, open to Delta employees interested in furthering their careers as Flight Superintendents (Flight Dispatchers). Delta is the only airline accredited by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct Aircraft Dispatch Certification. Upon completing the 200+ required hours of instruction and certification, we guarantee employees an interview for a Delta Flight Superintendent position.