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Air traffic controller: Career development

There are a number of opportunities for career development in air traffic control. These opportunities are available after you have completed your initial training and period of operational experience.

In preparation for promotion to higher grades, you may be able to take specialist courses and secondments. The higher grades might include the following roles:

• on-the-job training instructor and mentor;
• operational watch supervisor, where the role is to manage the work of other controllers;
• non-operational air traffic controller officer positions, such as working at a college of air traffic control or an evaluation unit, where you would train and assess new recruits, both in the classroom and in practical sessions;
• incident investigator.

In addition, an air traffic control officer can train to be a local competency examiner in order to maintain professional standards. It should be noted that professional standards are maintained by peer assessment, not management examination.

Further promotion is to management and planning posts.

There is a worldwide shortage of air traffic controllers and harmonisation of licences for air traffic controllers across Europe is due to come into force sometime in 2008. This could increase opportunities for movement within the European Union, especially given that English is the international language used within air traffic control. Information about these developments is available from EUROCONTROL: European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation , the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers' Associations (IFATCA) , and Airport International news updates.

AGCAS

Written by Andrew Whitmore, University of Manchester

Last updated:

March 2008

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