With approximately 1.5 million aviation employees needed worldwide in the next decade, Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology became the first institution in the northeast to receive Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for the Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI), offering students an accelerated employment pathway to becoming air traffic controllers.
On July 22nd, as the institution continues to address the growing demand for aviation professionals through quality education and training, Vaughn College and faculty hosted a media day with flight instructors and former air traffic controllers at Vaughn’s air traffic control lab and flight simulation facility to announce their partnership with the FAA.
Through their expanded partnership with the FAA, Vaughn will play a major role in training the next generation of controllers. Through the Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative
(AT-CTI) program, graduates may be placed directly into FAA facilities for controller training (bypassing training time at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma), provided they pass Vaughn’s requirements, the FAA’s Air Traffic Skills Assessment exam, and meet medical and security requirements. This comes as staffing shortages have caused flight delays and disrupted air travel nationwide.
According to CAE’s biennial Aviation Talent Forecast, an estimated 1.5 million aviation professionals will be needed worldwide by 2034 due to fleet expansion, rising travel demand, and high retirement rates. This need includes pilots, aircraft maintenance technicians, cabin crew, and, for the first time, air traffic controllers, predicting that 71,000 controllers will be needed globally over the next 10 years.
