Airspace manager to air traffic instructor
An airspace manager already meets 26% of what the air traffic instructor role asks for. The move turns on 21 required skills not yet in the profile.
77.8/ 100
1 How much of what an air traffic instructor is expected to do is already part of an airspace 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 air traffic instructor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An air traffic instructor role treats 8 of its required skills as things an airspace manager already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- air traffic control operations
- air traffic management
- air transport law
- aviation meteorology
- give instructions to staff
- interpret visual literacy
What stands in the way is 21 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 air traffic instructor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an airspace manager 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 8 the air traffic instructor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 32 missing skills fall into 10 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 teach air traffic control required
- still to learn prepare examinations for vocational courses required
- still to learn prepare syllabuses for vocational courses required
- still to learn train staff in navigational requirements required
- still to learn apply technical communication skills required
- still to learn assist students in their learning required
- still to learn write work-related reports required
- optional, not held communicate in air traffic services optional
- optional, not held advise on teaching methods optional
- optional, not held coach employees optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- still to learn geographic information systems required
- still to learn geographic areas required
- still to learn geographical routes required
- still to learn meteorology required
- still to learn analyse work-related written reports required
- still to learn evaluate education programmes required
- still to learn evaluate training required
- optional, not held analyse data for aeronautical publications optional
- optional, not held compile data for navigation publications optional
- optional, not held review meteorological forecast data optional
- still to learn comply with air traffic control operations required
- still to learn use of air traffic services document required
- still to learn assess students required
- optional, not held deal with air traffic issues optional
- optional, not held identify training needs optional
- still to learn common aviation safety regulations required
4 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an air traffic instructor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 teach air traffic control practise this
- 02 common aviation safety regulations study this
- 03 comply with air traffic control operations 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 aviation meteorology knowledge
- already held give instructions to staff skill
- already held interpret visual literacy skill
- already held use different communication channels skill
- already held use meteorological information skill
- already held operate radar equipment skill
- already held use geographic information systems skill
The 4 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn pedagogy required
- still to learn surveillance radars required
- still to learn procedures associated with different air navigation areas required
- optional, not held operate airport control tower optional
- optional, not held use modern electronic navigational aids optional
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse data for aeronautical publications optional
- optional, not held communicate in air traffic services optional
- optional, not held compile data for navigation publications optional
- optional, not held deal with air traffic issues optional
- optional, not held operate airport control tower optional
- optional, not held review meteorological forecast data optional
- optional, not held use modern electronic navigational aids optional
- optional, not held advise on teaching methods optional
- optional, not held coach employees optional
- optional, not held identify training needs optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
11 held skills the air traffic instructor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role act reliably skill
- not needed by the target role aircraft flight control systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply the concept of Flexible Use of Airspace skill
- 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 electronic communication knowledge
- not needed by the target role follow airport safety procedures skill
- not needed by the target role have spatial awareness skill
- not needed by the target role manage aspects of airspace management skill
- not needed by the target role monitor airspace planning skill
- not needed by the target role work in an aviation team skill
8 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 common aviation safety regulations required
- still to learn geographic information systems required
- still to learn procedures associated with different air navigation areas required
- still to learn surveillance radars required
- still to learn geographic areas required
- still to learn geographical routes required
- still to learn meteorology required
- still to learn pedagogy required
Common questions about this move
Can an airspace manager become an air traffic instructor?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An airspace manager already covers 26% of what an air traffic instructor is expected to do: 10 skills carry over, 8 of which the air traffic instructor role treats as required.
What skills does an airspace manager need to become an air traffic instructor?
21 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 10 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is teach air traffic control.
How hard is the move from airspace manager to air traffic instructor?
Its learning distance is 77.8 out of 100, which is the career change 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.