The RAF has used non-military instructors in the past....American Civilian Flight Instructors at that....at seven flight schools all privately owned in the USA....including the use of Link Blue Canoe flight simulators.
Seems the concept is not all that new.
The US Navy is using the concept for early training and the students move on to later training operations as part of their progression.
https://militaryhistorynow.com/2016/...-s-during-ww2/