Diversity In Action

The FAA seeks techies, with diversity an important goal

The FAA is managing a large percentage of pending retirements. It is also working to come up to national averages in its diversity numbers

Jobs at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are by no means limited to air traffic controllers. The agency also hires engineers, IT specialists, statisticians, economists, physicists and operations research analysts.

But if air traffic control is what you want, the FAA provides great career opportunities. There are some 15,000 controllers working for the FAA right now, says Sandra Sanchez, director of the agency's office of diversity. If hired, you would be sent to the controller academy in Oklahoma City, OK.

About 1,000 air traffic controllers are hired per year. "Many of our controllers are now eligible to retire," Sanchez says. "Years ago President Reagan fired all the air traffic controllers. New ones had to be hired, and since air traffic controllers have to retire by the age of fifty-six they're nearing retirement today. That is creating a crunch with more people retiring at the same time."

A lot of people go through two- to four-year programs to attain controller status. An undergraduate degree is great to have but it is not necessary to get hired, Sanchez says. A candidate can pass a series of tests and then go through a journeyman process to become a controller.

But for people who want a formal degree, thirty-six schools offer collegiate training institutes for air traffic controllers. Hampton, an HBCU, is one of them. Another forty schools offer technical operations training.

The FAA has other areas besides air traffic control where technically minded people can apply their skill sets. A variety of technical skills are needed in connection with communication radios, GPS, ground-based navigation, radar and many other areas, Sanchez says. People are also needed in acquisition, procurement and financial analysis.

Jeff Lane is manager of the Air Traffic Organization (ATO) IT operations department at FAA HQ. He knows of many opportunities for IT pros. "That could be anything from a higher-tiered helpdesk job to system developers or network engineers. The more experienced people get high-visibility programs and projects to manage," Lane says.

One of the current high-visibility IT endeavors is the agency's electronic messaging system. Using Lotus Notes, team members develop applications and business tools in addition to providing email to serve more than 30,000 customers within the FAA.

Most employees use email daily, Lane points out. "We have gone through migrations and upgrades of the messaging system, and our executives rely on the mail system and BlackBerry service which is tightly integrated with the system. It's key that it's up, operational, available and reliable for the user," Lane says.

There's also a current need for apps and Web developers, and a big push for people with experience in IS security. People applying for these jobs must submit to background checks, and security clearances are required for some positions, Lane says.

ATO IT seeks people with soft skills as well as project management know-how. "They need the ability to communicate across the organization and especially with customers. To be able to understand their needs accurately and provide for them is a big, big plus," Lane says.

Depending on the position there are a variety of required languages, Lane adds. Web developers should know languages like JavaScript, XML, and HTML. People working in routers and switches need a background in TCP/IP, Linux and Unix. Desktop support pros should know Windows desktop and server OSs as well as the Microsoft Office application suite.

Sanchez points out that the FAA recently released its Outreach and Recruiting Strategy for Mission Critical Occupations 2010. The document revolves around attracting and retaining a highly qualified, diversified workforce in the mission-critical occupations necessary to support the Next Generation Air Transportation System.

New stats reflect growing diversity in the workforce. For example, the FAA increased the number of Hispanics by thirteen percent from 2007 to 2009. Nevertheless, the Hispanic and Latino population makes up just six percent of the total air traffic controller workforce, while the civilian labor force in general is about 10.7 percent.

To counteract the problem, "We are involved in outreach to members of the National Hispanic Coalition of Federal Employees," Sanchez reveals. The FAA is undertaking a collegiate training initiative (CTI), and six of the thirty-six Air Traffic CTI Schools are Hispanic-serving institutions, as are eleven of the forty Tech Ops CTI schools.

The FAA increased its number of African Americans by thirteen percent from 2007 to 2009. African Americans make up about nine percent of the ATO workforce compared with 10.5 percent in the civilian labor force.

"We are involved in outreach to organizations like the Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference, Blacks in Government, the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, the National Black MBA Association and Howard University," Sanchez says.

American Indians and Alaska Natives make up about 1.26 percent of the ATO workforce, more than twice the .6 percent in the civilian workforce. "We are involved in outreach to American Indian and Alaska Native organizations like the AISES conference and career fair," Sanchez says.

Diversity training is required for new employees. The FAA offers about a hundred courses, many covered in a classroom setting, and there's also an electronic learning system, Sanchez says.

The FAA's National Employee Forum has been established for more than a dozen years and has chapters around the country and in Guam and Puerto Rico. There are a number of employee councils, for Hispanics, Asian and Pacific Americans, African Americans, employees with disabilities, Native Americans, Latin Americans and Hispanics. There's a Professional Women Controllers group, and a Technical Women's Organization.

Sanchez notes that while the air traffic controller workforce has historically been male-dominated, more women are getting into the field. "The women who do it love their work, are very proud of their jobs, and try to encourage other women to get involved," Sanchez says. In fact, the women controllers group has created its own mentoring program.

Employees also work with the Smart Skies aviation education program. NASA developed the program along with air traffic controllers at the FAA's Oakland, CA facility.

Smart Skies is an online air traffic control simulator for use by fifth to ninth grade students. Participants tour the Air Traffic Control System command center and work with FAA experts to solve simulated problems.

The FAA partners with the Organization of Black Airline Pilots and Women in Aviation to put on the Aviation Career Academy, a summer program that reaches 2,000 students a year.

To encourage employees' careers, the FAA has a senior leadership development program. This, says Sanchez, enhances the pipeline of highly qualified senior managers in mid- to high-level jobs.

With the sometimes stressful nature of FAA work, work-life balance becomes especially important. There's an onsite daycare center and a fitness center at HQ. Some people telecommute or have alternative work schedules. There are childcare subsidies, and even a concierge service. And for issues that may affect work performance, there's an employee assistance program.

"This is a terrific place to work," Sanchez says. "People are proud to work here. They have an opportunity for growth and innovation, even the possibility of helping design a brand-new system of air traffic control!"

D/C