The U.S. needs air traffic controllers, and it’s turning to gamers for help

Perhaps all those hours spent playing Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, or StarCraft II could finally prove useful outside your gaming setup. The U.S. Department of Transportation has been recruiting gamers to become air traffic controllers, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the unusual approach is already helping the Federal Aviation Administration make progress toward its hiring target.

The FAA says its gamer recruitment push is working

The campaign kicked off in April, targeting young gamers who may already have some of the skills required to become successful air traffic controllers. At the time, Duffy said the gaming focus offered a way to reach a growing number of young adults who already possess many of the “hard skills” needed for the job. The FAA pointed specifically to multitasking, spatial awareness, strategy, and problem solving as abilities that could transfer from gaming to air traffic control.

And the effort appears to be making progress. In a recent post on X, Duffy said the FAA has reached 94% of its hiring goal, the fastest it has ever reached the target, while more than 2,000 new controllers have been hired. Another 2,000-plus candidates are currently making their way through the hiring process. The recruitment drive comes as the FAA continues to deal with a shortage of air traffic controllers across the U.S.

Turns out gaming can teach useful skills

Anyone who has played an RTS such as StarCraft II or Age of Empires IV will be familiar with keeping an eye on resources, units, the map, and an opponent at the same time. Games such as Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, and Rainbow Six Siege similarly require players to watch their surroundings, process audio and visual cues, communicate with teammates, and make decisions quickly.

There is research supporting some of these benefits. Studies of action video games have found links to improvements in areas such as attention and spatial cognition. Gaming experience has found practical applications elsewhere, too. Studies have linked previous gaming experience to better performance in some laparoscopic surgery simulations, while the U.S. military has also found experienced gamers can adapt well to piloting drones.

Of course, being great at Valorant does not mean you can simply walk into an airport control tower. Applicants still have to clear the FAA’s selection process and Academy training before moving on to one to three years of on-the-job experience required to become a certified professional controller.