In my opinion, this thread deserves to stay alive, almost 20,000 views! Below is an article regarding ATC hiring that pertains to Pubnat 1 especially, straight from the ATO's employee website.
June 23 — Hiring for both air traffic controllers and technicians is on track and is expected to exceed the ATO's goal for the year, according to Jim Trinka, director of ATO Technical Training and Development.
Since the beginning of fiscal 2008 through the end of May, the ATO hired 1,289 new controllers. Hiring numbers for the fiscal year are expected to be more than 2,000. This will exceed both the Controller Workforce Plan and the FAA Flight Plan goals for controller hiring.
The Controller Workforce Plan outlines the agency's 10-year controller hiring strategy, while the FAA Flight Plan is the 5-year strategic document for the agency. Both are updated annually.
With more frequent selection panels and the Pre-Employment Processing Centers – one-stop interview, medical screening and security clearance events for candidates – the ATO has significantly improved the hiring process, Trinka pointed out.
Selection panels for controller candidates are held every two months. The most recent panel, held earlier this month, selected around 1,400 candidates who will continue through the process during the remainder of fiscal 2008 and the beginning of fiscal 2009.
Due to the success of the PEPCs, the period between selection and the new hires’ start date at the FAA Academy has decreased from nine to two months. PEPCs are held every two weeks in areas with large concentrations of candidates.
On the other side of the coin, controller losses for fiscal 2008, per the Controller Workforce Plan, is projected at 1,621. As with hiring numbers, the ATO’s internal attrition projection is slightly higher and adjusted monthly. “The retirement forecast has been close,” Trinka said, “although total attrition numbers have not been as accurate.” Promotions, experienced controllers joining the instructor ranks and training attrition are slightly higher than projected.
Training times for developmental controllers are also improving. The average time for developmentals to achieve full certification so far in fiscal 2008 is less than two years (1.73 years combined average for Terminal and En Route). For fiscal 2007, the combined average time was almost three years.
Simulators in both tower and TRACON facilities are improving training, Trinka said. A total of 18 tower simulators in the field will serve 90 air traffic control towers once they are all deployed. In the TRACON environment, trainers can design scenarios in the Deployable Air Traffic System simulators specifically for individual developmentals based on their training needs.
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