NATCA Says ATC Hiring Scheme Needs Tweaking

AvWeb ^ | May 17, 2014 | Russ Niles

[BwanaNdege]

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association is suggesting the FAA rethink its new ATC hiring protocol after the first attempt netted only a fraction of the controller trainee candidates it expected. As we reported in February, the agency revised its recruitment policies in the hopes of attracting a more diverse pool of prospective controllers. More than 28,000 people applied but of those, only 2,200 passed a somewhat mysterious "biographical questionnaire" to advance to the next selection level. NATCA says the FAA was hoping for 30 percent to pass the questionnaire phase. Among those who failed the questionnaire were graduates of collegiate ATC programs and former military controllers, who, until the change, would have been virtually guaranteed a shot at being selected for training. Instead, they were put in the same pool as the thousands of candidates with no relevant experience or training and judged on their answers to personal questions.

[BwanaNdege]

"The new hiring policy has also prompted widespread complaints from 36 educational facilities offering ATC courses under the FAA-approved collegiate training initiative (CTI) across the country and recent graduates who were surprised by the abrupt change. The issue has prompted news stories all over the country, usually quoting recent CTI grads who flunked the biographical questionnaire and sometimes mentioning those who passed but had no idea why. Implementation of the questionnaire appears to have had its origins in a study done jointly by the FAA and San Diego State University in 2012 (PDF) that said the questionnaire "has validity as a predictor of air traffic control specialist performance ratings" and that the questionnaire "yielded nearly identical mean scores across gender and ethnicity." The study said the questionnaire is designed to gather biographical data by "asking individuals to recall and report their typical and sometimes specific behaviors or experiences in a reference situation, generally from an earlier time in their lives." "

[Dr. Ursus]

Women and minorities hurt most!

[wrench]

“yielded nearly identical mean scores across gender and ethnicity.”

Diversity trumps ability once again

[Kackikat]

I don’t plan to be boarding a plane anytime soon...

[Still Thinking]

Among those who failed the questionnaire were graduates of collegiate ATC programs and former military controllers, who, until the change, would have been virtually guaranteed a shot at being selected for training. Instead, they were put in the same pool as the thousands of candidates with no relevant experience or training and judged on their answers to personal questions.

Only a government, and most likely only a LIBERAL government, could come up with such an irrelevant and moronic process. Fools. Oxygen thieves!

[USNBandit]

The federal government has some of the weirdest hiring procedures you have ever seen. Fill out an app. It gets scored by a computer. Score high enough and it gets reviewed by a human.

So far this sounds pretty normal. Here is where federal hiring leaves reality. That person that looks at your application probably has no background in the field you are applying for. Then the top candidates (as scored by a person outside your field of expertise) get an interview.

In the real world an interview is a really important part of getting hired. In federal service it is a pass/fail and then it goes back to the hiring center and they somehow decide who to hire.

The net result is that you can hire a bunch of people and ther will be a fair percentage that you look at and ask, "HTF did they hire him?" In the same hiring group I was hired in, my agency hired a guy that the Navy had removed from the same type if work for lack of professional progress and poor decision making. How did he get hired? Well it turns out the application never asks if you have been subject to a performance board. It asks if you have been fired and if you have had any accidents. Surprise, this guy absolutely sucks at his job, but you can't get rid of him.

[wrench]

A friend flunked out of FAA training for ATC back in the 80s. He is a senior capt flying for American Airlines these days.

[NYAmerican]

Sounds like normal Civil Service hiring to me. The only sad part is that the rest of society has followed like the suicidal lemmings they really are. Now Corporations are barely distinguishable from their government masters.

[PAR35]

more diverse pool

Because you certainly want an affirmative action hire directing your flight.

[Aria]

Just wait till CAIR get’s their allocation for “terrorist” minority hiring.

[BwanaNdege]

Because you certainly want an affirmative action hire directing your flight.

Pilots are next!

TSA has not yet succeeded in running off enough passengers.

[Kackikat]

Amazing the things we can overcome when others deny the opportunity...thanks for that info.