Air traffic controller to aviation data communications manager
An air traffic controller already meets 39% of what the aviation data communications manager role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
54.9/ 100
1 How much of what an aviation data communications 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 aviation data communications manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An aviation data communications manager role treats 5 of its required skills as things an air traffic controller already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply technical communication skills
- common aviation safety regulations
- have computer literacy
- tolerate stress
- use different communication channels
What stands in the way is 8 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 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An aviation data communications 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 common aviation safety regulations business, administration and law
- already held perform multiple tasks at the same time management skills
- already held tolerate stress management skills
- already held apply technical communication skills communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held have computer literacy working with computers
- already held use different communication channels communication, collaboration and creativity
All 6 carried skills, including the 5 the aviation data communications manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 9 missing skills fall into 3 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 communicate in air traffic services required
- still to learn work in an aviation team required
- still to learn present reports required
- still to learn write work-related reports required
- still to learn manage data required
- still to learn monitor communication channels' performance required
- still to learn perform risk analysis required
- still to learn manage flight data communications programme required
- optional, not held use databases optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an aviation data communications manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 communicate in air traffic services practise this
- 02 manage data practise this
- 03 manage flight data communications programme 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 6 skills that carry over
- already held apply technical communication skills skill
- already held common aviation safety regulations knowledge
- already held have computer literacy skill
- already held tolerate stress skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held perform multiple tasks at the same time skill
1 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held use databases optional
30 held skills the aviation data communications manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role act reliably skill
- not needed by the target role air traffic control operations knowledge
- not needed by the target role air transport law knowledge
- not needed by the target role aircraft flight control systems knowledge
- 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 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 aviation meteorology knowledge
- not needed by the target role carry out navigational calculations skill
- not needed by the target role celestial navigation 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 electronic communication 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 give instructions to staff skill
- not needed by the target role handle stressful situations in the work place skill
- not needed by the target role have spatial awareness skill
- not needed by the target role interpret visual 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 operate radar equipment 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 use meteorological information skill
- not needed by the target role use of air traffic services document skill
Common questions about this move
Can an air traffic controller become an aviation data communications manager?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An air traffic controller already covers 39% of what an aviation data communications manager is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 5 of which the aviation data communications manager role treats as required.
What skills does an air traffic controller need to become an aviation data communications manager?
8 required skills are missing, plus 1 optional ones. They fall into 3 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is communicate in air traffic services.
How hard is the move from air traffic controller to aviation data communications manager?
Its learning distance is 54.9 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.