The world of air traffic control is facing a math problem it can’t seem to solve: too many planes and not enough people to watch them.
To fix it, the federal government is moving past the traditional recruitment playbook and turning its attention toward the reflexes found in local arcades and home gaming setups.
Leaning into this strategy is a new Department of Transportation (DOT) hiring campaign that is going after video game players. The YouTube ad shows game footage with a pretty straightforward pitch: “You’ve been training for this … become an air traffic controller. It’s not a game. It’s a career.”
More Than Just Fast Reflexes
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the campaign taps into “a growing demographic of young adults who have many of the hard skills it takes to be a successful controller.” The FAA said it is looking for people with high cognitive function, multitasking ability, spatial awareness, and problem-solving skills.
In exit interviews, several outgoing controllers pointed to gaming as an influence on their ability to think quickly, stay focused, and manage complexity.
Only about 25% of controllers have a college degree, so the campaign isn’t really aimed at your typical four-year university crowds. It appears to be more focused on applicants pursuing alternate career paths.
It’s a necessary gamble as the staffing shortage has been going on for years. Over the past decade, controller numbers fell by around 6% while flights went up 10%. To make matters worse, COVID shut down training for a stretch. Government shutdowns didn’t help either.
The FAA now has nearly 11,000 controllers on the job and more than 4,000 in training, but needs 14,500 for the agency to be fully staffed.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) didn’t oppose the campaign, with the union president Nick Daniels saying that the association welcomes expanding the candidate pool, as long as hiring standards don’t change.
It’s worth noting that current staffing is the highest it’s been in six years, but it’s still about 3,500 short.
Sources: FAA, DOT (YouTube), GAO, ABC News