US hires over 2k video gamers as air traffic controllers
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has successfully recruited over 2,000 video gamers to train as air traffic controllers to address a critical staffing shortage. Officials believe the cognitive skills developed through gaming, such as rapid decision-making and multitasking, are highly transferable to the demands of managing air traffic.
Why it matters
This initiative highlights a shift in professional recruitment strategies, prioritizing specific cognitive skill sets over traditional academic credentials to solve labor shortages in high-stakes infrastructure roles.
Video gamers are in demand to help patrol the nation's skies.U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a recent social media post that the federal agency's recruitment campaign to recruit gamers as air traffic controllers has been a "game changer" for the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA hired more than 2,000 video gamers to train as air traffic controllers, meeting 94% of its hiring goal, according to the Transportation Department. Another 2,000-plus candidates are in the hiring pipeline, Duffy added. Why video gamers?When Duffy announced the initiative in April, he acknowledged that the Transportation Department needed to extend its reach to recruit prospective air traffic controllers. "A lot of what they do playing games ... is what they do ... controlling traffic in the air," Duffy told CBS News senior transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave in an interview on Tuesday at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport.
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