Watchdog Calls for Improved FAA Workforce Plans

The Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (OIG) is recommending that the FAA improve its safety workforce plans, saying they are too narrow in scope and don’t fully explore trend and development data. 

According to the OIG, the FAA has developed workforce plans for three main safety areas as directed by Congress—air traffic controllers; airway transportation system specialists; and aviation safety specialists in the FSDOs and certification offices. However, the FAA limits those plans to the workforces directed by Congress, so 10,800 positions—about a quarter of its safety workforce—are not counted. These include line and other managers, airport inspectors, and engineers.

Further, the OIG noted that the agency’s safety-critical workforces are not clearly defined, nor does the FAA have uniform definitions of these roles. The office also expressed concerns about limited trend and workforce development data in these plans.

For example, the air traffic controller and aviation safety workforce plans do not include gaps in senior workforce positions or the average vacancy period for those roles. These plans don’t address competencies and skills gaps, or information about development and training programs.

The OIG recommended that the FAA standardize definitions for safety-critical and other positions, provide a report that covers safety-critical employees, develop a mechanism to summarize gaps in senior positions, and better track the agency’s effort to streamline and modernize its aviation safety workforce.