Video gamers alone can’t keep our skies safe

The Federal Aviation Administration is recruiting video gamers for air traffic controller job openings. This effort has yielded more than 2,000 recruits being added to the pipeline, offering a novel approach to resolve a staffing problem that has persisted for many years.  

The issue is not whether video gamers will be the breakthrough that finally ends the problem. They are a welcome addition. What is apparent, though, is that adding more people into the existing system does little to resolve the structural issues that have led to persistent shortages in the first place.

Skills developed by video gamers, including concentration, pattern recognition and multitasking, are similar to the skills used to manage dozens of flights in the sky in real time, which is why gamers have been actively recruited. Air traffic control is a high-stress job, with thousands of people’s lives at risk every day. It is difficult to know in advance whether a person can shoulder the responsibility of managing dozens of flights in the air around a busy hub airport. However, given that the skills of gaming appear relevant to what air traffic controllers experience, it certainly seems worth trying.  

Yet growing the pool of applicants alone does little to address such long-term staffing needs when the pathway from recruitment to certification continues to have a high attrition rate. Applicants must be under 31 years old, be U.S. citizens, and meet an extensive list of security and medical thresholds. Only 10 percent of all applicants end up meeting these standards and eventually enroll in the training........

© The Hill