Fixing NCEPT/academy placement

cryhavoc478

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We can all agree ncept is broken, half the posts on this forum are complaining about how broken it is but there seems to be a lack of ideas in how to fix it. I personally believe the placement system from the academy is also to blame and needs to be redone as well. This post is not to blame Mick or Santa or anyone else for the current issues, but to simply suggest an improvement.

The current plan out of the academy seems to be to place trainees at facilities that are short staffed, without considering why those facilities are short staffed. There are plenty of CPC's sitting at low level facilities that arent getting academy graduates, and are not able to release people either. All this is occuring while some facilities are getting multiple trainees a year, and are able to release as well. The ncept plan of allowing CPC's who can move to move into facilities they dont want to go to, while other CPC's are sitting at facilities they dont want to be at and cant release, so they cant get where they want to go is not working.

What if the placement out of the academy sent trainees to level 4,5 and 6's that are under 90% staffed only. The logic here is if you are at 90% and not releasing, clearly your CPC staff is happy and does not want to leave, so why would we send trainees to that facility. Send 1 trainee to each facility at a time, then restart the list over. Currently there is about 90 4,5 and 6's that fit this criteria. If OKC graduated 10 (terminal students) every two weeks, this would give each facility a new trainee every 2 months. If you consider a 50% failure rate in OJT, this would equate to 3 new CPC's per facility a year. These numbers are relatively conservative, as most classes are graduating more than 10, and most facilities have better sucess rates than 50%. This would allow 4,5 and 6's to release someone every ncept a year or so after this plan would be implemented.

To fix ncept, allow transfers only 3 levels higher than current facility on the first move to a level 7 or higher. As an example, a 4 could release to a 7, a 5 to 8 and a 6 to 9. After the first transfer above a 7, the CPC can transfer to any facility level they desire. If you cap moves at 3 levels for the first move, level 7, 8's and 9 would also get an influx of people and allow them to begin releasing people. On the second necpt move, the CPC can move from a 7 to a 9 if they wish. Another thing this would solve under this idea, is a CPC would not be able to go from a 4, to a 6 that is eligible for academy graduates then jump straight to a 12 because they did not break through that level 7 ceiling. Ncept also would not be based only on the receiving facilities percentage but would consider the CPC's time at the current facility. To allow a less senior CPC move to a facility before a senior CPC just because the less senior is willing to go to somewhere the senior is not willing to go is not fair. This forces senior CPC's to move to facilities they don't want to be at, or to stay at some shit low level facility for years.

Additionally, if a CPC wants to go to a lvl 4, 5 or 6, and is willing to sign a contract saying they will go to that facility and work for a set number of years after obtaining CPC at that facility, they will receive a priority transfer. Under this, the CPC will not be eligible to move for any circumstances, not even under a hardship. This will allow people who want to go to a low level facility for whatever personal reasons they have. Additionally this will put a senior individual in the tower so you have some experience individuals still working the lower levels.

After the plan is in place, you can identify any hard to staff level 7's, this would be evident by an extreme lack of ERR's to the facility. The only facility I can think of top of my head would be Fairbanks AK as a facility no one would want to ERR into, so leave them eligble for academy graduates as well.

This plan would admittedly stalemate ncept for probably a year, as the flow up of staff got through the lower level facilities into the higher levels but would cause an influx of movement within 2-3 years. This prevents people from going from a 4 to a 12, so trainees are more prepared for the higher levels because they have had obvious steps of progression through the facility levels. Imagine if right now, you could all but guarantee that within the next 12 months your facility would get a minimum of 3 cpc's, and be able to release 3 through ncept in the next calendar year. The issue isnt just lack of staff and hiring more, its how you utilize the staffing you have and its clear the FAA does not understand how to utilize staffing.
 
It’s not NCEPT that’s broken. It’s the National release policy that is fucking us.

Well wouldn't you say the national release policy is a part of ncept? This would fix the release policy as well with placing academy graduates at all facilities, not just ones where the FAA sees there is a major need, after that facility just released people and other facilities are getting screwed.
 
Hire 7,000 controllers.

Obviously fixing staffing throughout the agency should be a priority, but hiring and training 7,000 controllers is not going to happen overnight. My idea would at least start allowing people to move as throughout the agency while NATCA and the FAA continue to do nothing to increase hiring.
 
While none of this will happen, I'd say make the terminal cap level 9/10 instead of a 3 levels. Give people with that mid-higher level radar experience preference/priority for the 11/12 tracons when panels roll around.
 
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I think on the terminal side you need level caps because its different than enroute side. If you do not have level caps, who would ever go to the mid levels, this makes it where people will go to mid levels for a little, then move up again to higher levels. And if you want to be able to move to a level 9 sooner, suck less in the academy and choose the level 6.
 
I think on the terminal side you need level caps because it’s different than enroute side. If you do not have level caps, who would ever go to the mid levels, this makes it where people will go to mid levels for a little, then move up again to higher levels. And if you want to be able to move to a level 9 sooner, suck less in the academy and choose the level 6.
FPL 5-6’s are probably the worst choice to make coming out of the academy. 2+ year check out with no hope of transferring. Pick the lowest level tower only you can and GTFO.
 
FPL 5-6’s are probably the worst choice to make coming out of the academy. 2+ year check out with no hope of transferring. Pick the lowest level tower only you can and GTFO.

clearly this went way over your head as you cant see its an idea for a long term solution that will actually allow transferring by redoing where people are placed out of the academy and how ncept works.
 
Make it facility seniority based, no nest for transfers just return to last facility (where you would be last in facility seniority), make the release clause be based on outgoing facility national seniority (if the receiving facility can accept them), and no transfers over the age of 52(?).

This would accomplish a couple things. The main one is people would only bid facilities they want to go to and think they could be successful at. We hear too many stories of people gaming the numbers just to get released and get put in the nest ASAP. This way it would be too much of a risk to lose out on your facility seniority to try a different facility.

There would theoretically be no more leap frogging in facilities.

The national seniority release idea to any given given facility is the fairest in my opinion.

Sorry, but there needs to be an age restriction No more of this trying to get your high three by being in training until you retire and take up someone’s spot that is actually trying to go there.

And no more quitting loopholes and maybe limit the amount of facilities someone has paperwork in to 1 or 2?
 
They need to just let you apply to any open job like any other agency.

That would force them to have bids to actually fill the low staffed places. Bids with move money. Bids with a set amount of years then an automatic release/pick whatever you want.
 
Make it facility seniority based, no nest for transfers just return to last facility (where you would be last in facility seniority), make the release clause be based on outgoing facility national seniority (if the receiving facility can accept them), and no transfers over the age of 52(?).

This would accomplish a couple things. The main one is people would only bid facilities they want to go to and think they could be successful at. We hear too many stories of people gaming the numbers just to get released and get put in the nest ASAP. This way it would be too much of a risk to lose out on your facility seniority to try a different facility.

There would theoretically be no more leap frogging in facilities.

The national seniority release idea to any given given facility is the fairest in my opinion.

Sorry, but there needs to be an age restriction No more of this trying to get your high three by being in training until you retire and take up someone’s spot that is actually trying to go there.

And no more quitting loopholes and maybe limit the amount of facilities someone has paperwork in to 1 or 2?

Ah yes, because what the FAA truely needs is an age discrimination law suit! That will really help things!
 
Level caps are stupid as shit why should a CPC be allowed to only move to a level 7 when a new center person can be placed at a 12
Because we're fucking sick of training level 5 tower only people how to radar identify aircraft, vector, and PTAC at a level 12 when mid levels who already know how to do that can't release anyone. Ever.


Waste of everyone's time and half of them don't even intend on certifying. They're just jumping through hoops to get a fat NEST list and pay bump in the interim
 
Ah yes, because what the FAA truely needs is an age discrimination law suit! That will really help things!
Because the agency telling me I can’t work past 56 isn’t? It would be collectively bargained. Training someone that is going to retire before checking out or shortly after checking out is a waste of resources.
 
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