Air traffic controller to airspace manager
An air traffic controller already meets 64% of what the airspace manager role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
40.1/ 100
1 How much of what an airspace manager is expected to do is already part of an air traffic controller’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the airspace manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An airspace manager role treats 10 of its required skills as things an air traffic controller already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- air traffic control operations
- air transport law
- aircraft flight control systems
- carry out navigational calculations
- celestial navigation
- electronic communication
What stands in the way is 6 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 14 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An airspace manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an air traffic controller background worth leading with.
- already held celestial navigation natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held carry out navigational calculations information skills
- already held operate radar equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held air traffic control operations services
- already held interpret visual literacy information skills
- already held have spatial awareness information skills
All 14 carried skills, including the 10 the airspace manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 7 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn apply the concept of Flexible Use of Airspace required
- still to learn work in an aviation team required
- still to learn air traffic management required
- still to learn monitor airspace planning required
- still to learn manage aspects of airspace management required
- still to learn use geographic information systems required
- optional, not held follow airport safety procedures optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an airspace manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 apply the concept of Flexible Use of Airspace practise this
- 02 manage aspects of airspace management practise this
- 03 monitor airspace planning practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 14 skills that carry over
- already held air traffic control operations knowledge
- already held air transport law knowledge
- already held aircraft flight control systems knowledge
- already held carry out navigational calculations skill
- already held celestial navigation knowledge
- already held electronic communication knowledge
- already held have spatial awareness skill
- already held interpret visual literacy skill
- already held operate radar equipment skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held act reliably skill
- already held aviation meteorology knowledge
- already held give instructions to staff skill
- already held use meteorological information skill
1 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held follow airport safety procedures optional
22 held skills the airspace manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role airport planning knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse work-related written reports skill
- not needed by the target role apply airport standards and regulations skill
- not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
- not needed by the target role assist during take off and landing skill
- not needed by the target role assist in the conducting of flight checks skill
- not needed by the target role common aviation safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role comply with checklists skill
- not needed by the target role electrical systems used in transportation knowledge
- not needed by the target role electronics knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure public safety and security skill
- not needed by the target role execute working instructions skill
- not needed by the target role handle stressful situations in the work place skill
- not needed by the target role have computer literacy skill
- not needed by the target role monitor aviation meteorology skill
- not needed by the target role operate airport control tower skill
- not needed by the target role perform multiple tasks at the same time skill
- not needed by the target role pre-flight procedures for IFR flights knowledge
- not needed by the target role read 3D displays skill
- not needed by the target role stay alert skill
- not needed by the target role tolerate stress skill
- not needed by the target role use of air traffic services document skill
1 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn air traffic management required
Common questions about this move
Can an air traffic controller become an airspace manager?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An air traffic controller already covers 64% of what an airspace manager is expected to do: 14 skills carry over, 10 of which the airspace manager role treats as required.
What skills does an air traffic controller need to become an airspace manager?
6 required skills are missing, plus 1 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is apply the concept of Flexible Use of Airspace.
How hard is the move from air traffic controller to airspace manager?
Its learning distance is 40.1 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.