Air traffic manager to airspace manager
An air traffic manager already meets 30% of what the airspace manager role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
67.1/ 100
1 How much of what an airspace manager is expected to do is already part of an air traffic manager’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 5 of its required skills as things an air traffic manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- air traffic management
- aircraft flight control systems
- celestial navigation
- use geographic information systems
- work in an aviation team
What stands in the way is 11 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 airspace manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an air traffic manager background worth leading with.
- already held air traffic management business, administration and law
- already held celestial navigation natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held follow airport safety procedures assisting and caring
- already held aircraft flight control systems services
- already held work in an aviation team communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held use geographic information systems working with computers
All 6 carried skills, including the 5 the airspace manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 15 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 interpret visual literacy required
- optional, not held use meteorological information optional
- still to learn apply the concept of Flexible Use of Airspace required
- still to learn use different communication channels required
- optional, not held act reliably optional
- optional, not held give instructions to staff optional
- still to learn air traffic control operations required
- optional, not held aviation meteorology optional
- still to learn air transport law required
- still to learn electronic communication required
- still to learn manage aspects of airspace management 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 6 skills that carry over
- already held air traffic management knowledge
- already held aircraft flight control systems knowledge
- already held celestial navigation knowledge
- already held use geographic information systems skill
- already held work in an aviation team skill
- already held follow airport safety procedures skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- still to learn operate radar equipment required
4 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held aviation meteorology optional
- optional, not held use meteorological information optional
- optional, not held act reliably optional
- optional, not held give instructions to staff optional
21 held skills the airspace manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role airport environmental regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role airspace system block upgrades knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply airport standards and regulations skill
- not needed by the target role common aviation safety regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role coordinate flight schedules skill
- not needed by the target role ensure safety in international aviation 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 inspect aircraft documentation skill
- not needed by the target role manage aeronautical information management services skill
- not needed by the target role manage air navigation services skill
- not needed by the target role monitor aviation meteorology skill
- not needed by the target role perform data analysis skill
- not needed by the target role perform market research skill
- not needed by the target role perform risk analysis skill
- not needed by the target role plan maintenance activities skill
- not needed by the target role provide assistance to airport users skill
- not needed by the target role statistics knowledge
- not needed by the target role test ground system performance 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
4 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 control operations required
- still to learn air transport law required
- still to learn electronic communication required
- optional, not held aviation meteorology optional
Common questions about this move
Can an air traffic manager become an airspace manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. An air traffic manager already covers 30% of what an airspace manager is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 5 of which the airspace manager role treats as required.
What skills does an air traffic manager need to become an airspace manager?
11 required skills are missing, plus 4 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 manager to airspace manager?
Its learning distance is 67.1 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.