Retirement Bill introduced to eliminate locality from FERS high 3 calculations

Heck I wouldn’t even mind having a fast track tuition forgiveness program for those folks if they put the time in to go through the CTI program and then get certified and put XX amount of good years on the boards. I’m spitballing a bit, but this whole CTI move looks promising.
There were very robust CTI programs a decade ago and the FAA decides to just tell them all the F off. Collectively they can probably add 1000 people per year if they get back to where they used to be.
 
There were very robust CTI programs a decade ago and the FAA decides to just tell them all the F off. Collectively they can probably add 1000 people per year if they get back to where they used to be.
Being way before my time in the agency, I wonder what it would take to revive it somewhat close to that?
 
Being way before my time in the agency, I wonder what it would take to revive it somewhat close to that?
They used to let working controllers teach labs as a side job. Then they banned it. Maybe they’ll let controllers help out again one day. It’s really up to the schools. Not sure if all the ones with simulators are still open.
 
This is exactly why I thought CRWG was fucking stupid from the beginning. It only serves to acknowledge the agency’s goal of “staffing more people.” There’s a problem, the academy’s [primary hiring conduit by vast majority] capacity is still the same bottleneck it always has been. Yay, FAA Reauth requires the agency to maximize hiring for the next 5 years. Good thing they’ve already been doing that for several years running. Think this agency can double the capacity of the academy AND graduate even one additional class in that same timeframe?

Frankly I’m not surprised NATCA didn’t even consider any of this before “collaboratively” letting the agency make us sit on a bedpost for the rest of our lowly careers.
I think it goes even deeper than the academy. FAA Medical cant keep up. The academy is running partial classes because they cant get enough people cleared through medical. And that seems to happen every year.
 
PCT uses controllers in the lab to work beside the SAIC instructors. Each area has 1 controller on a 2 year detail to the training dept. They keep their currency and are recallable to the floor of staffing dictates it.
 
FAA OTS bids are receiving close to 60,000 applicants anymore. Even if applicants dropped by 95%, the FAA would still be able to meet annual hiring targets assuming 1 out of 2 wash at some point in the training pipeline.

There will never be a shortage of people wanting to get their foot in the door regardless of how bad things perceivably get for those already doing the work. We are underpaid for the work that is done and the conditions we face, but ATC has been sold as a high paying job to the public with no degree requirement… people will always stand in line for the notion of a “six figure job” even though six figures just flat out ain’t that impressive anymore.
60k applicants doesn’t guarantee the FAA finds even 3000 of them well qualified in any given bid
 
60k applicants doesn’t guarantee the FAA finds even 3000 of them well qualified in any given bid

True. The point still stands though: There is a massive demand for our positions... and given our lowered qualifications, do you REALLY think there's any risk of not finding 3000 qualified people out of 60-fucking-thousand? I don't.
 
PCT uses controllers in the lab to work beside the SAIC instructors. Each area has 1 controller on a 2 year detail to the training dept. They keep their currency and are recallable to the floor of staffing dictates it.
That's not the same as controllers working a side job at the local CTI school
 
PCT uses controllers in the lab to work beside the SAIC instructors. Each area has 1 controller on a 2 year detail to the training dept. They keep their currency and are recallable to the floor of staffing dictates it.

That’s the facilities lab, not a CTI school’s lab
 
Why can't they find a few thousand qualified people out of 60k? What indications do you have that this isn't happening?
I’ve seen it from the inside. Trust me they’re digging deep into the bottom of the barrel to hit the annual targets. And many applicants can’t get through medical because everyone these days is on dope or SSRI’s.
 
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