Thu, Jan 27, 2011
Graduates Can Move Directly To Advanced Training In Oklahoma
City
The first students have been admitted to the latest training
initiative for future air-traffic controllers at Western Michigan
University's College of Aviation, located at the W.K. Kellogg
Airport in Battle Creek, MI. Home to the third-largest aviation
program in the country, WMU will be admitting a limited number of
students into its new air-traffic control program for the 2011-12
academic year. Developed in partnership with the FAA, the training
program is designed to prepare students to report directly to the
FAA's Oklahoma City academy and bypass an initial five-week basics
course.
WMU was asked to join the FAA's Air Traffic Collegiate Training
Initiative network last April, making it one of 36 schools in the
nation to offer AT-CTI training--the only one in Michigan. Launched
in 1990 by the FAA, AT-CTI aims to help recruit candidates for
terminal and air-traffic controller positions. While jobs are not
guaranteed to AT-CTI graduates, about 41 percent of FAA new hires
over the past five years have attended such a program.
To ensure the future success of its students, WMU is integrating
the AT-CTI training with its existing four-year aviation degree
programs. This gives graduates of WMU's AT-CTI program the
opportunity to follow multiple career paths without returning to
the classroom.
WMU Ramp
Tom Thinnes, manager of aviation recruitment and outreach, says
although specialized courses will offer experience in all facets of
air-traffic control, WMU plans to focus on training controllers to
work in towers, control ground movement and handle local traffic.
The first step in WMU's AT-CTI application process is to gain entry
into the University's Aviation Science and Administration or
Aviation Flight Science programs. Additional pre-requisites for
acceptance may parallel the FAA's hiring criteria for air-traffic
controllers, which include U.S. citizenship, a medical exam,
security clearance, above-average knowledge in math and science,
and a 31-year-old maximum-entry age. Those who complete the
initiative and graduate with an aviation degree from WMU must also
pass the FAA pre-employment test for air-traffic controllers and
undergo additional training at the administration's air-traffic
academy in Oklahoma City to attain their certification.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the federal
government employs about 90 percent of all air-traffic controllers.
In March 2009, the average yearly salary of U.S. air-traffic
controllers was $109,000.
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