Air traffic instructor to airspace manager
An air traffic instructor already meets 45% of what the airspace manager role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.7/ 100
1 How much of what an airspace manager is expected to do is already part of an air traffic instructor’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 7 of its required skills as things an air traffic instructor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- air traffic control operations
- air traffic management
- air transport law
- interpret visual literacy
- operate radar equipment
- use different communication channels
What stands in the way is 9 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 10 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 instructor background worth leading with.
- already held air traffic management business, administration and law
- 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 air transport law business, administration and law
- already held use meteorological information information skills
All 10 carried skills, including the 7 the airspace manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 11 missing skills fall into 7 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 monitor airspace planning required
- still to learn carry out navigational calculations required
- still to learn have spatial awareness required
- still to learn apply the concept of Flexible Use of Airspace required
- still to learn work in an aviation team required
- optional, not held act reliably optional
- still to learn electronic communication required
- still to learn manage aspects of airspace management required
- still to learn celestial navigation required
- still to learn aircraft flight control systems required
1 further area in the appendix
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 10 skills that carry over
- already held air traffic control operations knowledge
- already held air traffic management knowledge
- already held air transport law knowledge
- already held interpret visual literacy skill
- already held operate radar equipment skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held use geographic information systems skill
- already held aviation meteorology knowledge
- already held give instructions to staff skill
- already held use meteorological information skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held follow airport safety procedures optional
2 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held follow airport safety procedures optional
- optional, not held act reliably optional
32 held skills the airspace manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on teaching methods skill
- not needed by the target role analyse data for aeronautical publications skill
- not needed by the target role analyse work-related written reports skill
- not needed by the target role apply technical communication skills skill
- not needed by the target role assess students skill
- not needed by the target role assist students in their learning skill
- not needed by the target role coach employees skill
- not needed by the target role common aviation safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate in air traffic services skill
- not needed by the target role compile data for navigation publications skill
- not needed by the target role comply with air traffic control operations skill
- not needed by the target role deal with air traffic issues skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate education programmes skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate training skill
- not needed by the target role geographic areas knowledge
- not needed by the target role geographic information systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role geographical routes knowledge
- not needed by the target role identify training needs skill
- not needed by the target role meteorology knowledge
- not needed by the target role operate airport control tower skill
- not needed by the target role pedagogy knowledge
- not needed by the target role prepare examinations for vocational courses skill
- not needed by the target role prepare syllabuses for vocational courses skill
- not needed by the target role procedures associated with different air navigation areas knowledge
- not needed by the target role review meteorological forecast data skill
- not needed by the target role surveillance radars knowledge
- not needed by the target role teach air traffic control skill
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
- not needed by the target role train staff in navigational requirements skill
- not needed by the target role use modern electronic navigational aids skill
- not needed by the target role use of air traffic services document skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
3 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 aircraft flight control systems required
- still to learn celestial navigation required
- still to learn electronic communication required
Common questions about this move
Can an air traffic instructor become an airspace manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An air traffic instructor already covers 45% of what an airspace manager is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 7 of which the airspace manager role treats as required.
What skills does an air traffic instructor need to become an airspace manager?
9 required skills are missing, plus 2 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is apply the concept of Flexible Use of Airspace.
How hard is the move from air traffic instructor to airspace manager?
Its learning distance is 55.7 out of 100, which is the substantial 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.