FAA Organizes Chicago Job Fairs to Recruit Air Traffic Controllers Amid Shortages

The recent government shutdown has cast a spotlight on a growing concern in the aviation sector: the shortage of air traffic controllers. This issue, which has been simmering beneath the surface, has come into sharper focus as flights have increased while the number of controllers has dwindled.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, there has been a 6% decrease in the number of air traffic controllers over the past decade. This decline has occurred despite a rise in flight operations, creating a strain on the system that demands immediate attention.

In response to this pressing need, efforts are being made in the Chicago area to recruit and train new air traffic controllers. Olive-Harvey College, a key player in this initiative, offers programs in aviation maintenance through its Transportation Distribution and Logistics building. Recently, the college invited students and community members to explore careers as air traffic controllers, highlighting the opportunities in this critical field.

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To facilitate this recruitment drive, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has opened its online application portal for aspiring air traffic controllers. On a recent Friday, prospective applicants at Olive-Harvey College received direct assistance and information from FAA employees, helping to demystify the application process and encourage participation.

The FAA has opened its online site for applications for air traffic controllers. Applicants at Olive Harvey College got help and more information from FAA employees directly on Friday.

“It’s a very easy process we’ve been in here 10 minutes,” applicant Omarion Parker said. “They gave us some instruction. We applied, and we’re about to leave, quick and easy.”

The event was one of five FAA job fairs in the Chicago area on Friday.

“Air travel is only increasing to so therefore we need a trained workforce,” said William McClinton, FAA Great Lakes Region Director of Human Resources.

Those considered for an air traffic controller position need to be a U.S. citizen between 18-31 years old and have a bachelors degree or just one year of work experience.

“You don’t need a degree but you can have one and a mix of different things that’s going that will get your qualified beyond this point but to be honest one year works experience will get you started,” McClinton said.

Cheryl Freeman-Smith, A dean at Olive Harvey, said this job fair is often the first exposure for applicants in the area for this type of work, or any government job.

“It will allow them to be financial stable so build up the communities they live in and that also gives vision and hope to young folks who look up to them and allow them to go into careers they hadn’t thought of,” Freeman-Smith said.

Dejaa Neely lives in Morgan Park and never considered being an air traffic controller, until now.

“No I didn’t consider air traffic controller at all, until I saw the flyer, and that we all know what’s going on in the news with the storage going with them, so I was like maybe there will be some job security,” Neely said.

Those who pass testing and background checks go to air traffic controller school for six weeks.

Once assigned to a tower, it takes three years to be fully certified. And all that time, the applicant is being paid to learn. Find more details about applying on our news app and website

Applicants should hear in the coming weeks to see if they move to the next round. But if this doesn’t work, applicants are now exposed to thousands of positions available in the government.

More information about FAA ATC hiring can be found here.