FAA targets gamers in Greensboro recruiting push for air traffic controllers

The FAA opened its annual air traffic control hiring window at 12 a.m. on April 17. It turned to gamers, betting that fast reflexes, multitasking, spatial awareness, strategy and problem-solving could help fill one of the federal government’s most demanding jobs. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said the agency needed to adapt to reach the next generation of controllers, and exit interviews with controllers showed some credited gaming with helping them think quickly and manage complexity.

The recruitment push produced a sharp response: in a single 24-hour window, the FAA received 12,350 applications, and 10,779 were qualified. That was more than double the agency’s previous first-day record, and qualified applicants were being processed seven times faster than the year before. About 25 percent of controllers hold a traditional college degree, part of the reason the agency is widening its search beyond the usual college pipeline.

In Greensboro, the campaign landed because UNC Greensboro has already built part of the bridge the FAA is describing. John W. Borchert, the founding director of Applied Research in Computer Arts, Digitization, and Esports, leads ARCADE at UNCG, where the work sits at the intersection of gaming, applied research and workforce development. UNCG’s Videogaming and Esports Studies minor is a 15-credit program built around one required core course and four electives, and the university’s Esports Arena opened on April 25, 2022, in Moran Commons as a 3,300-square-foot space for gaming, learning and community.

Rising senior Jordan Marelli said he initially laughed off the idea that video game skills could help in aircraft control, then saw the connection once he considered the focus, teamwork and rapid decision-making the work requires. Borchert said the arena is used for classes, research, competitive teams and community events.

Its 2026 Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan sets a target of 12,563 Certified Professional Controllers. The agency had about 11,000 certified controllers in service and about 4,000 in training as of April 2026, and the plan calls for hiring at least 2,200 controllers in fiscal 2026, 2,300 in fiscal 2027 and 2,400 in fiscal 2028. The job comes with a defined ladder: applicants must be U.S. citizens, under 31 and fluent in English, pass the Air Traffic Skills Assessment, clear medical and security checks, complete Academy training in Oklahoma City and then spend 1 to 3 years in on-the-job experience before becoming certified. The FAA says Academy trainees start at $22.61 an hour with health and housing benefits, and certified controllers can average more than $155,000 within three years of graduation.

The Government Accountability Office found FAA controller staffing was about 6 percent lower at the end of fiscal 2025 than in 2015, even as flights using the air traffic control system rose about 10 percent to 30.8 million.