Big 6 Experience Requirements

F9DXER said:
There was one major airline that did have a recent class that was all internal candidates. The training department had their work cut out for them. Training took way way longer than needed. A lot of the candidates couldn't read a TAF. OJT was a nightmare. It wasn't pretty per se.
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What airline was that?
 
PlaneFan82 said:
They have hired externally before and had terrific results with those hires. I am curious why they would not go outside again.
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Indeed. One of my former coworkers from RIA was hired there as an external about 2 1/2 years ago.
 
Don't you think the main reason would be to fit the dispatch program to fit the needs of your operation? If Delta is really charging those attending their program $2,000 like others have said, they certainly aren't making much money off of it. Especially if everyone within the program has a job waiting for them. It does make me wonder how often programs change to meet the needs of the industry? Should they?
 
It's their airline so they are free to do as they wish...however, going exclusively internal for all dispatch new hires seems odd to me, as I don't know of any other carriers that have been trending that way. In fact, until Delta started their school, it seemed like majors were moving towards doing more external hiring for dispatch positions. If I were dispatching at a Delta Express carrier, I certainly would not feel any loyalty to stick around and think that perhaps my experience there might be an advantage in getting hired by mainline...so it could potentially hurt the express carriers also, in terms of keeping experienced people. I personally am of the opinion that a mix of external and internal hires at majors is the best way to go, but I am not an HR employee nor do I ever intend to be. However, I think expecting someone to get the license on their own doesn't seem like an undue burden, particularly with so many good distance learning programs out there these days. It sounds like Delta's current way of doing things may be a case of company culture (of "always hire from within") prevailing over what is actually best for the company.
 
manniax said:
It's their airline so they are free to do as they wish...however, going exclusively internal for all dispatch new hires seems odd to me, as I don't know of any other carriers that have been trending that way. In fact, until Delta started their school, it seemed like majors were moving towards doing more external hiring for dispatch positions. If I were dispatching at a Delta Express carrier, I certainly would not feel any loyalty to stick around and think that perhaps my experience there might be an advantage in getting hired by mainline...so it could potentially hurt the express carriers also, in terms of keeping experienced people. I personally am of the opinion that a mix of external and internal hires at majors is the best way to go, but I am not an HR employee nor do I ever intend to be. However, I think expecting someone to get the license on their own doesn't seem like an undue burden, particularly with so many good distance learning programs out there these days. It sounds like Delta's current way of doing things may be a case of company culture (of "always hire from within") prevailing over what is actually best for the company.
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The examples I know of hired into it were in departments getting restructured initially, and the jobs were being eliminated so they invited them into dispatch. They had external people in that particular class earlier this year - I remember mention of someone from Sheffield. I am not sure what it has turned into from there. It's not an experiment they are going to give up on overnight, but it does sound like it isn't set in stone yet.
 
Avgirl said:
Don't you think the main reason would be to fit the dispatch program to fit the needs of your operation? If Delta is really charging those attending their program $2,000 like others have said, they certainly aren't making much money off of it. Especially if everyone within the program has a job waiting for them.
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Delta only cares about one thing and they're damn good about obtaining that one thing. Money. If DL can make an extra penny off of their employees they're going to do it. The school costs nothing to operate as the instructors are dispatchers on special assignment to teach the course so they're not getting paid any extra salary for doing so and they were going to pay the prospective dispatcher the same salary that they would have had to pay any other candidate.

The internal push came about from a mandate that 80% of "advancement" opportunities were fulfilled from within. I use quotes because although our jobs are very high paying and carry an enormous amount of responsibility, it is still technically an entry level position. I can walk into any regional and most mainlines right now and become a dispatcher without having to have thrown bags for them.

Previous posters are correct though, it seemed for a fleeting year and a half that Delta was coming out of its shell and seeing the benefit of external hires with dispatching experience. However, that door was slammed shut in the past year as 76% of the hires since January 2015 have been academy grads. 2016 has been 100% internal instead of 80%.

I guess it's easier to brainwash people who 8 weeks ago didn't know what a dispatcher was into towing the corporate fuel line rather than an experienced dispatcher that knows when tough decisions have to be made and acts in the interest of completing the mission instead of economy.

@manniax, This push doesn't have potential to hurt Connection carriers, it IS hurting connection carriers. I personally know 15 strong dispatchers that were at various DC carriers and wanted nothing more to come bask in the ATL summers. Of them, 5 had a chance to come test when it was still ok to go outside of the Delta Garden and either chose wrong when deciding if they'ed rather kill mom or dad or couldn't do enough correct currency conversions. All 15 are now working at UA, AA, B6, and WN.

The cherry on top of all of this is that Ed recently responded to a question regarding Delta sponsoring training for internal candidates that wanted to become pilots. He said no, because there was lots of talent out there that would want to work for Delta and they (Delta) would have their pick of the best. Odd that that logic does not extend to dispatchers as well.
 
MT said:
The cherry on top of all of this is that Ed recently responded to a question regarding Delta sponsoring training for internal candidates that wanted to become pilots. He said no, because there was lots of talent out there that would want to work for Delta and they (Delta) would have their pick of the best. Odd that that logic does not extend to dispatchers as well.
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Some major airlines still seem to not have realized that dispatching is a professional position and treat it like becoming a ticket agent or something...I hope that attitude is changing. Thinking both of DL and WN here, although WN has seemed to realize the value of getting some experience from beyond the company for new hire dispatchers. The only other airline I know of that does primarily internal hiring is FedEx. I don't know how much internal hiring AA does, but I know that like UA, you have to get your license on your own.
 
manniax said:
Some major airlines still seem to not have realized that dispatching is a professional position and treat it like becoming a ticket agent or something...I hope that attitude is changing. Thinking both of DL and WN here, although WN has seemed to realize the value of getting some experience from beyond the company for new hire dispatchers. The only other airline I know of that does primarily internal hiring is FedEx. I don't know how much internal hiring AA does, but I know that like UA, you have to get your license on your own.
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There was someone in my dispatch class who worked in AA IOC and was working on getting their license. I pray they aren't currently dispatching flights.
 
I thought Ed would bring a more pragmatic side to Delta when he took the helm from Richard. I guess we have to wait and see.
 
I do know WN is still adding desks to their NOC as of last month. Someone has to fill them.

Just hang on until next summer, guys and hold a spot for me...

:)
 
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