ACP447 2026 Instructor Job Projections with Spartan CEO Rob Polston

Welcome to Aviation Crews Podcast, my name is Karl Valeri, and in the past we've talked

a lot about jobs and hiring in 2026, and whether this is a wave or it's an actual rising

tide, we think it's a rising tide for pilots.

But today we're going to shift our discussion more towards the aviation training hiring,

in other words, people that are instructors, both on the mechanic side and also on the pilot

side.

And you know, I'm really excited because I have with me somebody who's been on this

podcast before, and that's Rob Holston for the CEO of Spartan College of Aeronautics

and Technology.

Rob, welcome to the show.

Hey, Karl, nice to see you again.

Thanks for having me back.

Yeah, I'm so excited to talk about this because I have to say this is a big topic of

conversation right now is what's happening in the training industry and what's happening

going forward.

By the way, for those that don't know, Spartan has been teaching aviation professionals

since 1928, they have over 100,000 graduates, and they've actually been through all the

different hiring cycles and whether this storm.

So hats off to your organization, first of all, Rob.

Thank you.

Yeah, it's a great pleasure to be a CEO of Spartan.

It's got a great history.

As you mentioned, we're almost coming up on our 100 year anniversary, and we started

off way back in Tulsa, Oklahoma back in 1928, but we've expanded a lot, even since the last

time we talked, and it's just kind of an example of how I would say bullish we are about

the aviation industry, what's going on, not only in the hiring industry, but also at our

schools and the need for instructors and teachers and growing our student populations.

So we're really excited about it, and I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about

it here today.

You know, it's funny because I am one of those people who love to teach, and this is

a topic, as you can tell, I'm excited about, I hope I get to teach until the day I die.

I tell you, this is one of those things that if you get involved with, you can stay within

for the rest of your life.

If you're even if you're in the airlines and you're looking at a retirement job, or you're

just getting started out, this is a great industry to be in, and that's aviation training.

Because I'm bullish also, and I'm bullish because of all the statistics we have in the

show notes, you can take a look at the Bureau of Labor statistics, but there is going to

be a growth rate at least 5% per year.

And by the way, another thing that I've been hearing from people is, boy, it's been

a little bit expensive trying to actually fund our flight training, and I know a lot of

you folks come here for the beginning of the show to find out how you can get that free

scholarship guide that we produce, and that's really easy, aviation careers podcast.com

slash free, and use a coupon code, pay it forward, pay it forward.

We have over $120 million in scholarships, and there's over 1,400 million scholarships

in that guide.

And if the folks at Spartan have actually sponsored us in the past, and we're really excited

about that.

If you're thinking of wanting to sponsor that, it's really easy.

All you have to do is hit like, subscribe, or become a member if you want to specifically

be on here as a sponsor.

Just hit us with an email.

It's feedback at aviation careers podcast.com.

Hey, well, let's get back to this show and talk to Rob about what we're doing, what

they're doing at Spartan.

So a little bit of background first before we talk about any type of hiring, because some

people may not know who Spartan is.

I know Spartan because I've hired a few other instructors over the years.

Where did they get their start now?

Where are you located?

Yeah.

We, you know, again, we started out in 1928 and we're in accredited college.

So we're recognized by the Department of Education and we're accredited at our school in Tulsa.

But we also, so we have both a flight and mechanic program in Tulsa.

In Denver, we have both flight and mechanic training as well, up in Brumfield, Colorado.

We have a technical school in Inglewood, California, along with Branch Campus on Riverside.

We bought a flight school up in Chicago at, to page airport.

So we have a flight school in Chicago.

And then we just recently entered the Texas market.

So we acquired a school called Aviator Air that now is known as Spartan Flight Academy

in Dallas, actually in Grand Prairie, in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.

So, you know, we've expanded our offering over the last several years since we've spoken,

because we're just so bullish on the one, I think, the industry in general.

And as you mentioned, you know, the industry is one that cycles sometimes back and forth.

And sometimes it's, you know, people are, you know, discouraged at the very moment

and hiring maybe slows down for a little bit, and then it picks up in rapid pace.

So we're, but the long term prospects for the US aviation industry are so compelling.

And the reason we're so interested in training is because it's such an atomized market

in the United States for training.

You have some really great universities out there that really do maybe more specific flight training

or technical training, but it tends to be a part of a university.

And then at the other end, which is a large majority of the participants in education,

tend to be really just kind of, you know, really entrepreneurial,

but mom and pop smaller flight schools or technical offerings.

And we're one of the largest, you know, sort of platforms in the United States

that offer both technical training and flight training.

So part 141 and part 147 training.

And one of the largest head scale, we have about 160 aircraft today, multiple locations.

So we believe there's a need for not only more education in aviation

because people are getting interested.

They're, they're actually finding out about the career paths in education,

but we also provide something that I think is unique to us,

which is really a higher education approach.

Where I've been for the last 20 years and much of my team,

we really want to bring that leadership training and the ability to not only graduate

with the technical skills that you need to be a mechanic or a pilot,

but also the leadership skills that are really demanded in the marketplace

and the competitive marketplace where airlines are looking for leaders.

People are looking for not only the technical, but also the skills to bring a team,

to manage a team, and to, and to bring that level of leadership immediately on day one.

So I think we bring something a little different than a lot of other schools

in the market today.

Spartan has been around for a while.

They've weathered a lot of storms.

It's safe to say I think that you've been bullish on aviation for a long time.

And it's one of these schools that has been able to do something.

Some others have not been successful and that is being able to combine

both the technical side and also the flight side.

Now, what do you think is the key to that success?

Yeah, I think, you know, we made the decision, and I made the decision several years ago,

that we were only going to focus on aviation.

So we had some other programs that really weren't related, HVAC, and Wind,

and some other, I would say, you know, good career paths, but not aviation.

And we, we made a decision very consciously to focus only on aviation number one.

And, but we also saw a value into being both on the technical side and training mechanics

in part 147, which we are one of the largest producers of certified mechanics

in the United States, but also to really focus on building out our flight training.

We've always had a flight school in Tulsa, but we thought that there was a need

in the market for more flight schools and ones that could really operate at scale.

So I think, you know, what, I think that the, what we bring is, again,

that higher education approach, we all come from higher education, whether it be online training

or on ground, we come from a very serious background of not only training to FAA standards

and making sure that students are getting the certifications and the training they need

for their certifications, but also bringing that element of higher education,

whether it's in a more technical program or in a degree program, bringing that leader,

those leadership skills across all of our schools.

And we thought, and we still believe that there's a very large need in the market today for that.

So I think that's where we really differentiate ourselves and our, you know,

our position in the, in the marketplace today amongst the various choices of schools,

which again, there are, there are many good schools, I think, at the university and college level.

I think the other, you know, the other major, you know, and I think you'll agree with this.

The other major factor in the U.S. today is the focus on workforce development.

There has been for a long time, and I'll say throughout my career in higher education,

a focus on advanced degrees, the need to get a master's degree, the need to get a doctoral degree.

That's just not necessary in our profession.

You know, we're training people to go and do very, very complicated and technical skills where they need to be leaders.

But it doesn't require people to go to school for four or six or eight years.

And we also do it at a price that really is very attractive and affordable for people

who don't want to go spend $100 or $200 or $300,000 getting a university degree.

So we're much more practical.

We can get people to the market.

We can get them to their jobs in the most expedient fashion, but not giving up all of those opportunities

that they would have had to develop, not only as professionals, but also as people

while they're going to school at Spartan.

It's very prescient that you went into this workforce development that you folks have focused on that many years ago.

And one of the things that I think that you keyed on is that cost.

But we're not saying you can't get your degree some time for you.

Somebody that's looking towards the future.

But when you look at your return on your investment, I think that's what schools like Spartan actually have.

That actually shines about the rest and your competitive edge is the fact that if you look at how much you spend

compared to how much you make over the next five years, you're going to see that that ROI that

returns on your investment of your education is quite huge.

Yeah, I think it's, you know, it's that it's, you know, number one is the loan, you know, loan programs

and borrowing money to go to school and finding the money to go to school is a daunting task.

And, you know, I'm a parent of five children.

I know that, you know, that that's a responsibility we feel as parents and we want our kids to do well.

But there's also limitations and there's there's limitations to accessing funding to go to school.

So that's that's one aspect and I'm very committed to making sure that our education is a reasonable price

for what for what the students ultimately are going to get and and hopefully way beyond.

And they see it as a tremendous value.

I think the other part of this is that, you know, these the professions that we're trained that we're

that we're educating people for to become pilots to become leaders as as technicians and as mechanics for all all parts of the aviation industry.

Those are really, really important jobs, but as people are, are understanding, they're not, you don't need a degree.

Now, it's great.

If you want to go to a university and get a four year degree and get your bachelor's degree in aviation, I think there's some tremendous programs in the United States.

And that's for some part of the popular, some part of people who want to go into the industry, but it's not required to go to school for four years.

And the main message we're we're giving students is, look, you know, if you know you want to be a pilot or you know you want to be a part 147 mechanic and obtain your A and P licensure, this is the route.

This is a, this is a between somewhere between a one year or two year program depending on which, which route you're taking.

And then there's some time after obviously when you're a pilot to be a CFI, but this is the most direct route to getting that career and getting on with your getting on with your career and you don't need to get, get, have the time to spend to do a bachelor's degree necessarily if that's not what you want to do.

So again, it's an alternative path.

I think it's, it's a primary path now to the airlines and it's a very affordable one that has a very, very high.

Return on investment, you know, if you put, if you put the time in and, and get your certifications and go on.

Absolutely, but you know, one of the things we have to make sure people understand it's, it's not just that that return over years, but also realize that in the, in the immediate future, like in the next six months to a year that there are opportunities out there for folks that are looking at getting into instructing.

You hear the chatter on the internet, this is 2026 about the fact that it's really tough to find a job out there. You have to do something to make yourself stand out. A lot of that's certificates.

As far as projections, and I could tell you what I've seen, but I'd rather hear from you, what do you feel the market's going to be like from the aviation instructor, both from the pilot and all the maintainers as an instructor.

Yeah, now they're, they're very different because on the, on the pilot side, obviously we have certified flight instructors and that's a necessary part to get in your hours to either get to a region, you know, either really get to get to your ATP and get your 1500 hours.

So, you know, CFI and certified flight instructing is a very integral part of pilot training. We have many, we have, you know, many over over a hundred, probably about 150 actually CFIs together with our four schools today and growing.

You know, and they come both from our school and they come from outside from from the external external schools that don't provide CFI opportunities, whereas Spartan

has opportunities across our four schools. So, you know, I think on the CFI side to your point, the last couple of years, I would say post COVID, we had this massive hiring. And as you've said on many of your other podcasts, it's a, it's a, there's an ecosystem here as mainline hiring.

Then regionals moved on the mainline and etc and etc and down the line. And it, and it really does affect CFIs, CFIs, their first step is into a regional or maybe a, you know, maybe a charter, but generally a regional airline.

And we've seen steady demand at regionals and now increasing demand. But it certainly wasn't what, what it was two years ago.

But it is massively improving the last, I would say the last six months and I think 2026 now with the Boeing deliveries and what the airlines are projecting in terms of need.

We're going to start to see some significant hiring, which means CFIs move out and we need new CFIs to fill those roles. So I'm very bullish on not only the job market for CFIs going to the airlines.

But also new, the need for new CFIs as we, as we replace those positions and as we continue to grow on the mechanic, you know, on the tech, on the technician side of the part 147, that tends to be there, there's sort of two dynamics going on one is there's, there's an aging workforce of mechanics over and especially over the next 10 years, there'll be a lot of retirements and a lot of need for replacement.

Not mandatory like on the pilot side, but there's definitely an aging workforce on the on the mechanic side. So we look for for those opportunities to hire either as adjunct faculty or as permanent faculty in our part 147 schools, people who want to be, you know, teachers.

And I think that a big opportunity for that is really, you know, either either retiring or people who are looking to teach like like yourself who love to teach and have a desire to be, you know, be in a school environment, there's definitely opportunities for adjunct and part time teaching as well as full time teaching in our schools.

You know, I think a third piece, which we haven't, which you probably don't even really talk about, but, you know, there is a very large need outside of the United States for training and teaching both part 147 and part 141 where students want to come to the US, they're either sponsored or they become, or they come on their own.

And that creates more demand for our instructors, both for either teaching, either teaching online or teaching on ground, both for mechanics and for pilots. So it's, again, it's a, it's a derivative of what is going on in the overall industry, as you say.

And as there's more activity and more hiring in main line and more hiring in regional, there's, there's definitely a down funnel impact on the schools and our need for for instructors as well.

You know, I'm glad you brought that up as far as the instructors for those students that are coming to the US for flight training because the cost and in also the alacrity, I mean, it's very quick to get your licenses here.

And that was people I help a lot as far as coaching and moving forward, but I don't think we mentioned it enough. Like you said, Rob, and I think that's really important to realize people come to the US to actually train.

There's other countries too, but primarily the US. So there's a big opportunity there.

The other part of this, which I've been seeing and to your first point is we're seeing a lot of the airlines interviewing, especially at the top end, but now we're starting to see that fill in the regional side. It keeps me busy. That's for sure.

So that's a good sign when they're hiring, I just can't sleep at night and lately haven't got much sleep. So that's a real good sign, especially for you and from the training side of things.

I loved what you talked about as far as the adjunct side of things because some people say I love to teach, but I want to become an airline pilot or want to be a pilot because I know the pay is there.

That's what I do. I'm an adjunct. I work as an adjunct either at a school or at the airline that I fly for.

And it is incredibly rewarding to teach and you're passing that information on a pleasure making money doing it. So you can't beat that. You know, you get to have fun and also get paid.

And that's what's wonderful about people that want to do a career in teaching. They can. They also can fly. But even at Spartan, you have instructors have been there for a long time, you know, a lifelong career out of this.

Yeah. We have, you know, and that's a great point too. And I tell a lot of people that that come through Spartan. We have some great, we have some great graduates.

But they're on their way to becoming pilots or they're on their way to to joining industry. And that was the reason they came.

But there are, there are many examples of people who want to stay with Spartan in various capacities. They either want to stay in a career services role or student services role.

Or they want to stay in and struck because they love teaching and they love education.

And that's actually where they find the fulfillment, even though they thought they were going to start and they were going to go on to the airlines become a pilot or a mechanic.

So those opportunities are available as we're expanding. And I know other, you know, other other schools are as well.

There's, you know, there's not, there's a dearth of talent in the industry in terms of the need versus what the supply is. So there are opportunities out there for, you know, for people who want to be involved, want to stay involved, either part time or full time.

But we have many examples of people who stay in the school and they want to be part of it for a long, long time. And they found their passion and education as opposed to the actual perfect, you know, going into the profession themselves. So yeah, it's a, it's a great part.

It's, it's great to be able to offer that opportunity for people who feel that passionate and, you know, really, I think feel the mission that we're on at least at Spartan that we're on to train the next generation of pilots and mechanics.

Absolutely. And, you know, Rob, we talked about the opportunities. They're out there. But let's talk specifically about Spartan, if you don't mind. Let's switch to that as far as flight training. First of all, you know, and we've talked a lot. Someone's listening right now or watching right now. Why would someone choose Spartan for flight training?

Yeah, I think, you know, I think we bring so many different things and I'm so passionate about it. You know, again, we talked about our history and our reputation and our credentials. But that, that really only speaks to the, to the past, you know, and what we do every day.

And I really believe this every day, our goal and our mission is really to create leaders. You know, our goal is not here just to get you your FAA certs and your skilled training because there's a lot of, there's a lot of opportunities to do that where we differentiate is our ability to not only get you your, your credentials, but the experience you have along the way.

And to me, that really means building those leadership skills. So, for example, you know, at a lead with our school in Colorado, we have a partnership where we are the exclusive flight academy for a Legion Airlines. We chose a legion and they chose us because they have, they had and they will continue to have a need for pilots as they expand their routes and they expand their their their business and they get more planes.

They're going to need a lot more pilots and, and rather than having to always go out to the marketplace to have a steady stream of students that are that are training at Spartan and then going on to a legion is a strategic competitive advantage for a legion.

And so, you know, what we do in that program is not only provide mentoring our students actually just came back from a trip to Sanford, Florida, where five of our CFIs were together with managers, management team down.

In Florida, and they were in the simulators and really experiencing being part of a legion. So, you know, we believe that leadership is is it's about what you do from the very beginning you start ground school, maybe never having a day other maybe a discovery flight to the time that you're in your ATP CTP in this case, hopefully at a Legion and becoming an Airbus 320 first officer that to me is what we are about at Spartan is that full journey.

Where you are connected then with that airline also that you have chosen would be your preferred career path. We also do this with Atlas on the cargo side with our school where they're exclusive flight academy in in Chicago and to page airport and really proud of that partnership as well. We've have many, many students are in the Atlas program.

And again, you know, cargo is different than low ultra low cost different different lifestyle, different flavor of aviation and very attractive to students who want to go directly into Atlas through a pretty rigorous program. So, where we were differentiated is again it's not just about the sorts.

It's not about getting and accumulating your hours. It's about all the things that go into making you the pilot that they expect you to be on day one and that means getting acculturated to what that particular airline. Maybe you haven't chosen to go to Atlas or a Legion, but we're still bringing you along that journey because a lot of our students are still they're 18 22 23 years old.

The personal and professional development is just as important as getting the FA certification and being ready to be a leader in the cockpit. So, and we do similar things on the on the mechanics side in terms of preparing students getting their certifications while they're in school, their generals, their airframes, their power plant preparing them to take the the exams once they finished after graduation, bringing, you know, bringing employment.

So, there's a lot of employers to campus to meet the candidates and and I can tell you on the mechanics side there is there has not been a hiccup in terms of demand for for a MP licensed mechanics in the United States.

There's lots of opportunities for people who have those who have that designation. So, that's a pretty that's a pretty easy one as you can imagine.

Absolutely, you know, it's interesting just empirical they, you know, we sitting here I have maintenance shops around me and they're all complaining they can't find anybody.

It's true, and you know, the the AMP licensure is such a high level in terms of, you know, the demand, aerospace, transportation, there's lots of, you know, Tesla, there's there's lots of applications for people of avionics and and

the voting world. So, but you know, that that's really where Spartan is is I think different or at least where we try to position ourselves as a school of choice is, you know, speed to market, you know, not having to do the traditional four year route, but really getting to to the marketplace and which which the market needs today to your point, you know, there are opportunities out there and there are programs designed to not spend

four years plus in a in a traditional program. It's designed to be accessible in terms of cost, but that that's, you know, we're about the quality and what what is inside of that program and where you'll be when you leave Spartan is a professional that's ready to to be, you know, truly additive to a team once you join it and I think you'll find a lot there's a lot of scrutiny right now.

Around the training space for both pilots and mechanics and what are, you know, what are, what are the, what is the hiring, what are the hiring classes and look like where the deficits in their training, because they've got to be workforce ready, and that's where they're going to get the value and that's where the employers going to get the value.

As someone who trains pilots at the airline, so that is very important to have that training, you talked about a legion, you talked about atlas, but those people also have the same SOPs or similar SOPs to the other airlines, so whether you're looking at atlas or a legion or any airline, the training you're going to get at Spartan will be transferable to many different airlines. It's definitely good workforce training. I want to make that point because that is very important for somebody's looking to go to an airline, get that experience and start off right from the

beginning. And our graduates go on, they go on to Sky West, they go on to OnVoy, they're, you know, it's not specific to those programs, but we have specialized programs if you want to go to those particular airlines, but we're, yes, our graduates are open to, are open to work at many other airlines, and they do, and you're right, it's, it's a similar SOP in terms of what the airlines are demanding, and I'm proud, I'm proud of our graduates, I'm, I'm proud of the instructors coming back to your point.

You know, what goes, what, why are those graduates doing so well? It's because we have just some of the greatest instructors, I think, in higher education, in aviation training. We really search for people who have experience, we look for people who are passionate about our, our students and not only teaching, you know, teaching technical skills, but again, like, have that, have that passion for, for instructing students.

And really want to see them, you know, succeed in their career, and that's, that's what we're looking for in instructors, people who really feel that mission and that passion, and that this is not just, you know, a teaching job, but something they feel very passionate about.

Well, that's terrific to hear, and on that point, if you were talking to someone who's just getting started out, say in aviation, whether it's mechanic or pilot, whatever it may be, what, what advice would you give to someone who's just getting started, knows, knows nothing about aviation?

I think what you, well, I think there's, you know, just getting started out, obviously, you know, I think what you said, in many times in your, in the past is, in some of your podcasts, aviation is like every other industry, and in fact, you're almost, you know, you can liken it to an artist or to someone in business, or if you have a real passion for it, how do you build up your skill set, how do you differentiate yourself, how do you make yourself better?

And you mentioned this in several of your podcasts, you know, getting your CFI, getting your CF double eye, how do you differentiate what you bring to an airline, because they're looking to hire the best.

And I think, I think that's very good advice is take the time to go and build your, you know, build up your resume, build your skill set, do some teaching, do something different, differentiate who you are, not because it even shows a better on a resume,

but because you love the profession, so, you know, don't wait for someone to say, maybe, maybe you ought to do that, or, you know, maybe you ought to think about doing that, do it.

You know, this is, we all have very shim limited short time on earth to do the things we want to do, you should do it the best that you can, and that's so true of someone starting on aviation, there's so many opportunities to, to vary your, your experience.

I think, the reason I love aviation so much, and I think people really are attracted to it is, it's such an entrepreneurial career path when you really think about it.

There's so many opportunities, not only to do the work that you are asked to do, but to work outside of what you do on things that you're passionate about, and then connected to the industry.

And, and I think that's, that's, it's really great advice that you give, and I give the same advices, take advantage of it, take advantage of the opportunities to, to expand your skill, expand your experience, like in, like in other professions where you want to be the best you can.

Absolutely. Well said, and, you know, Rob, there's been great having you here, but how do we find you, by the way, I forgot to ask that, you know, how do we find you online, and can we come visit if someone wants to visit?

Well, we'd love to have anyone come visit any of our campuses where, you know, we're open for new visitors, want to do discovery flights for your pilot, if you're interested in aviation.

www.spartan.edu is our website, you can find all the information out about our programs, about, and about who we are.

Absolutely. Thanks, Rob. And now we'll put that all in the show notes, by the way, as far as Spartan.edu, and if you're looking for a career in aviation, whether it's a mechanic or as a pilot, I always recommend people go check out Spartan, especially if that's the part of the country you want to live in, but they're also expanding.

So there's a lot of parts of the country you can go to now. It's not just Tulsa Oklahoma, like it used to be, and, or was it Tulsa Oklahoma?

So that has changed. I think a lot of people still think that, especially people of my age, but it has expanded throughout.

And again, Rob, thanks so much for coming. Anything else before we leave?

No, Carl, I really appreciate and appreciate all the work you do for the aviation community. I think the biggest lesson people can learn is, you know, aviation is not something everybody knows about.

And there's probably some people out there that would be very keen on aviation if they only actually knew about it. We find out high schoolers and people who just didn't think it was accessible to them.

So I appreciate the work you're doing. I appreciate the opportunity to talk about Spartan and our view of the world. But again, you know, if there's, if you know people who may be thinking about aviation, you know, it's, it's a great opportunity and a great industry to be a part of.

And Carl, you're doing, you're doing great work and letting people know about those paths. I appreciate it.

Well, I appreciate that, Rob. And if you're someone who is looking at this as a path towards a career goal, say it's an aviation, or you're just, you know, tipping your toe in right now.

I recommend you get out there and talk to people, watch videos on YouTube. Also, you know, we have that coaching aviation curves podcast.com slash coaching. You don't have to just do one on one. We have a mentorship program out there. And you can try it out for a month for free.

And check that out aviation curves podcast.com slash coaching and another thing I really appreciate is the fact that Rob is so passionate and so many other people in this industry are so passionate that they're getting out there and they're telling the world about this thing that we all love and that's aviation.

But most importantly, do this for me. Take one step every single day to move forward in your career in your life.

Something small, making me looking up Spartan.edu to find out more about the school that's out there in those schools and both aviation as far as flying or mechanics or watch YouTube videos.

Listen to podcast, ask your friends, but make sure you take one step today to move forward in your career and in your life. And you don't get there sooner than you think.

We'll talk to you next episode, safe flying out there.