The Federal Aviation Administration has added eight colleges or universities to participate in its Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative program, bring the total number of participating institutions to 31.
"These schools are an excellent jump start for a job in air traffic control," said FAA’s acting administrator, Robert Sturgell, adding, "These institutions will give thousands of future controllers an inside track on a great career."
The agency said it plans to recruit and hire over 17,000 new air traffic controllers over the next 10 years, and said it hired over 5,000 new controllers over the past three years.
Still, more controllers have been retiring at a faster than expected rate and the agency faces an uphill battle to meet staffing needs as a long anticipated retirement wave continues government-wide. The FAA also said it plans to hire an additional 2,000 controllers in fiscal 2009.
CTI schools have produced over 4,000 students in the past few years from aviation programs, and the FAA said it hired 3,000 of them.