Okay, It Won't Solve Everything Overnight, But it's a Small Start...

The FAA’s newest endeavor aims to add to the pool of qualified Air Traffic Controllers, addressing a shortfall that has been building for years.

The new Control Tower Operator Partnership Program (CTO-P) aims to expand the pipeline of qualified air traffic controllers, with an eye towards filling seats in the Federal Contract Tower system. The program will use partnerships with existing academic bodies, blending FAA coursework with their current educational regime. The FAA will lend its official Academy curriculum and simulator-based training into existing college coursework, with graduates eligible to begin on-the-job training at one of 265 Federal Contract Towers across the U.S. Those facilities are a great pick for newbies, since they tend to be smaller regional and municipal airports. Students will qualify for direct hire into the FAA's collection of controllers after 52 weeks working the beat.

The CTO-P initiative is fairly similar to an existing program, the Enhanced Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI), for good reason. CTO-P differs in that it is not limited to nonprofit or accredited institutions and does not guarantee direct hiring into FAA-operated towers. Instead, CTO-P grads are intended to fill positions in contract tower staffing.

Schools that want to become a participating CTO-P entity must have high-fidelity tower simulators, curriculum compatible with FAA-approved training modules, and faculty with 3+ years of experience and 1 year as an OTJ instructor or equivalent. Once in, schools will be subject to site visits and annual audits to ensure compliance.

The new program may not solve all their staffing issues overnight, but it's a step in the right direction, and it shows the FAA is getting more serious about turning that ship around.

FMI: www.faa.gov