Academy College - Covering all the bases

Airlines are hiring! These are welcome words for students of aviation at Academy College in Bloomington and it shows. Academy College has seen an incredible spike in pilot candidate and other aviation centered enrollments.

"Over the past 30 years there have been small pockets of hiring," said Nancy Grazzini-Olson, Academy College President. "However, right now the demand to hire pilots has never been greater, with the hiring trend projected to continue over the next ten years."

"It is incredibly exciting for our collegiate pilots as their fellow students find employment as certified flight instructors (CFI), or with charter and corporate operations," said Julie Falk, Academy College Aviation Director. "Students are also inspired as our flight instructors advance into the airline sector."

Falk said the Aviation industry is no longer experiencing an excess of pilot candidates. In fact, the need for pilots is so great that some regional airlines have resorted to parking aircraft due to the shortage of qualified pilots. The regional airlines are not alone. International airlines have been struggling for quite some time, so if pilots are willing to venture beyond the United States, the opportunities are limitless.

Academy College is a career college offering Certificate, Associate Degree, and Bachelor Degree programs in aviation, business, accounting, medical and health sciences, and computer technology.

Early in a student's program, connections with potential employers are formed. The objective of the college is industry-specific employment within six months of a student's enrollment.

"Our goal as a career college is to get our students working in the industry as soon as possible," said Falk. "In the field of aviation, we make that happen through several connections here in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

"This area offers numerous airports, large and small, all with a variety of opportunities for students majoring in Commercial Piloting, Aviation Business, or Aircraft Dispatching. All these elements combined have led to amazing placement opportunities for Academy College graduates."

Academy College has partnered with Thunderbird Aviation to fulfill flight training needs for their students. Flight training consists of the Private Pilot Certificate, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot Certificate, Multi-Engine Rating, Certified Flight Instructor, Instrument and Multi-Engine ratings.

Academy College has also recently partnered with Cape Air/Nantucket Airlines on the Preferred Hiring Gateway Program. This new partnership is designed to provide opportunities to graduates in becoming new hire pilots for Cape Air.

The growth of Academy College reflects the success of their graduating students.

"We have current students with jobs lined up prior to their graduation from our program," said Falk. "For example, a current student obtained a corporate flying job out of Fargo. Another is flying for Great Lakes, based in Denver; and one of our recent graduate accepted a corporate flying position in Honduras."

For students willing to work for the adventure they seek, support, guidance, and opportunity abounds at Academy College. That is truly something for students to get excited about.