Transformation of Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) Hiring Process: Institutional Perspectives

Abstract

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website, “The FAA has created a network of partnerships with educational institutions to prepare students to pursue their goal of a career in aviation with the FAA. This effort is known as the Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI)†(Federal Aviation Administration, 2018, p. 1). The hiring process for aspiring federal air traffic controllers from approved Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI) institutions has undergone several revisions in recent years. Prior to 2014, graduates from AT-CTI programs were given preferential hiring from the FAA. In 2014, the FAA announced that AT-CTI graduates would equally compete with thousands of people the FAA calls “off the street hiresâ€; anyone who wants to can walk in off the street without any previous training and apply for a federal air traffic control job. The FAA’s only requirements to apply are United States (U.S.) citizenship, high school diploma, speak English, and pass the FAA’s new Biographical Questionnaire (BQ). This research study examined the perceptions of Collegiate Training Initiative programs regarding the impact of the transformation of the hiring process for federal air traffic controllers. Findings indicated that changes in the federal hiring process is a major concern of CTI institutions for several reasons including; enrollment and retention rate of CTI students, CTI institutional value added reputations, CTI students vested interest in ATC vs. off the street applicants, distrust and communication problems with the FAA, and the overall health and longevity of their AT-CTI program.