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2 More Florida Schools Offering FAA Controller Training

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By TED JACKOVICS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 13, 2008

TAMPA - Two more Florida colleges have been selected to create a pool of prospective air traffic controllers as the Federal Aviation Administration anticipates the need to hire 17,000 new controllers in the next 10 years.

Jacksonville University and Broward Community College in Fort Lauderdale join three other Florida schools the FAA has authorized for the Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida Community College in Jacksonville and Miami-Dade College provide CTI training that can lead to FAA acceptance and further controller training.

Trainees start in the low $30,000 range and can reach certification after about four years, when they might earn in the high $60,000s at FAA towers such as at Tampa International Airport.

Veteran controllers at Tampa International Airport earn on average a little more than $100,000 annually. The Tampa tower staff generally ranges from 57 to 67 controllers.

The FAA has hired 5,000 new controllers in the past three years and plans to hire 2,000 more in 2009.

New controllers are required to fill vacancies created by a surge of retirements in the current workforce of 15,100 controllers.

Many of the impending retirements are among those hired en masse in 1982, when President Reagan fired striking controllers.

The FAA imposes a mandatory retirement age of 56 for air traffic controllers and has provisions for earlier retirement options.

Information is available at www.faa.gov, where links can be found to jobs and CTI programs

Reporter Ted Jackovics can be reached at (813) 259-7817.

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