Cabin crew instructor to flight instructor
A cabin crew instructor already meets 24% of what the flight instructor role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
75.9/ 100
1 How much of what a flight instructor is expected to do is already part of a cabin crew instructor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the flight instructor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A flight instructor role treats 5 of its required skills as things a cabin crew instructor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply technical communication skills
- assess students
- assist students in their learning
- common aviation safety regulations
- use different communication channels
What stands in the way is 14 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 9 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A flight instructor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a cabin crew instructor background worth leading with.
- already held prepare examinations for vocational courses communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held perform routine flight operations checks information skills
- already held evaluate education programmes information skills
- already held common aviation safety regulations business, administration and law
- already held assist students in their learning communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held assess students management skills
All 9 carried skills, including the 5 the flight instructor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 33 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn give theory lessons to pilots required
- still to learn teach flying practices required
- still to learn adapt teaching to student's capabilities required
- still to learn apply intercultural teaching strategies required
- still to learn apply teaching strategies required
- still to learn ensure student welfare required
- still to learn give constructive feedback required
- still to learn prepare lesson content required
- optional, not held provide advice on pilot licence application procedures optional
- optional, not held prepare syllabuses for vocational courses optional
- optional, not held provide lesson materials optional
- optional, not held train air force crew optional
- still to learn assessment processes required
- still to learn curriculum objectives required
- still to learn operate cockpit control panels required
- optional, not held perform flight manoeuvres optional
- optional, not held perform take off and landing optional
- optional, not held undertake procedures to meet helicopter flight requirements optional
- optional, not held operate radio navigation instruments optional
- still to learn aircraft flight control systems required
- optional, not held aviation meteorology optional
- optional, not held air force operations optional
- optional, not held visual flight rules optional
- still to learn guarantee students' safety required
- optional, not held apply air force procedures optional
- optional, not held apply military aviation regulations optional
- still to learn monitor developments in field of expertise required
- optional, not held adapt training to labour market optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a flight instructor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 give theory lessons to pilots practise this
- 02 aircraft flight control systems study this
- 03 teach flying practices practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 9 skills that carry over
- already held apply technical communication skills skill
- already held assess students skill
- already held assist students in their learning skill
- already held common aviation safety regulations knowledge
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held evaluate education programmes skill
- already held perform routine flight operations checks skill
- already held prepare examinations for vocational courses skill
- already held write work-related reports skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held facilitate teamwork between students optional
- optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
- optional, not held coordinate rescue missions optional
- optional, not held perform classroom management optional
- optional, not held supervise crew optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held provide advice on pilot licence application procedures optional
- optional, not held aviation meteorology optional
- optional, not held facilitate teamwork between students optional
- optional, not held manage resources for educational purposes optional
- optional, not held perform flight manoeuvres optional
- optional, not held perform take off and landing optional
- optional, not held prepare syllabuses for vocational courses optional
- optional, not held undertake procedures to meet helicopter flight requirements optional
- optional, not held adapt training to labour market optional
- optional, not held air force operations optional
- optional, not held apply air force procedures optional
- optional, not held apply military aviation regulations optional
- optional, not held coordinate rescue missions optional
- optional, not held operate radio navigation instruments optional
- optional, not held perform classroom management optional
- optional, not held provide lesson materials optional
- optional, not held supervise crew optional
- optional, not held train air force crew optional
- optional, not held visual flight rules optional
18 held skills the flight instructor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on teaching methods skill
- not needed by the target role analyse work-related written reports skill
- not needed by the target role carry out pre-flight duties skill
- not needed by the target role coach employees skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role conduct full-scale emergency plan exercises skill
- not needed by the target role cooperate with colleagues skill
- not needed by the target role give instructions to staff skill
- not needed by the target role identify clients' needs skill
- not needed by the target role monitor customer service skill
- not needed by the target role pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role pre-flight procedures for IFR flights knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide food and beverages skill
- not needed by the target role provide high quality customer service skill
- not needed by the target role satisfy customers skill
- not needed by the target role teach air cabin crew procedures skill
- not needed by the target role teach customer service techniques skill
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn aircraft flight control systems required
- still to learn assessment processes required
- still to learn curriculum objectives required
- optional, not held aviation meteorology optional
- optional, not held air force operations optional
- optional, not held visual flight rules optional
Common questions about this move
Can a cabin crew instructor become a flight instructor?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A cabin crew instructor already covers 24% of what a flight instructor is expected to do: 9 skills carry over, 5 of which the flight instructor role treats as required.
What skills does a cabin crew instructor need to become a flight instructor?
14 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is give theory lessons to pilots.
How hard is the move from cabin crew instructor to flight instructor?
Its learning distance is 75.9 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.