The agency says recruiting gamers helped it hit 94 percent of its hiring target so far this year.
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Playing videos games may help score you your next job.
As part of a strategy to reverse the , the Federal A
According to the FAA and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, the campaign to recruit video gamers as air traffic controllers has allowed the agency to meet 94 percent of its hiring goal for 2026 so far.
“The FAA is continuing its supercharged hiring and is onboarding new controllers at a record pace. The President’s supplemental budget request includes additional funding for controller hiring,” the FAA told Inc. in a statement.
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As part of the agency’s 2026 Controller Workforce Plan, the FAA has identified a full staffing target of 12,563 Certified Professional Controllers. The initiative aims to reach young adults who possess useful skills that are transferable to a career in air traffic control. For the FAA, that includes gamers.
Gaming experts aren’t surprised by the push.
“The world is finally beginning to understand that gamers are far more than the stereotype we’ve been sold,” Clinton Sparks, founder and CEO of the Global Gaming League, told Inc. “Elite gamers are highly skilled, intensely focused, exceptional problem-solvers who understand that communication, teamwork, adaptability, and decision-making are everything. You don’t reach the highest levels of gaming without a very specific kind of intelligence.”
