Training for air traffic controllers is coming to Tarrant County College Northwest after trustees approved a new associate degree program at their April board meeting.
The program will prepare students for careers in a high-wage, in-demand field as part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Collegiate Training Initiative.
Students who graduate from the college will bypass the FAA’s academy and begin working as trainees in “a life-changing type of career,” said David Skidmore, a TCC aviation instructor who is helping to plan the program. Skidmore had a 36-year career in air traffic control.
“When we get it off and running and we’re ready to go, it’s an exciting career for anybody who thinks they can be an air traffic controller,” Skidmore said. “We’re already well-known for our pilot training program, and we’re going to take pride in the fact that we’re going to produce quality air traffic controllers.”
The average annual pay for an air traffic controller in the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area was $172,250 in 2024. Nationwide, their median pay is the highest of any field with the typical minimum educational requirement of an associate degree, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The DFW region has an estimated 150-200 openings annually, TCC Northwest President Zarina Blankenbaker told trustees.
Nationwide, the Federal Aviation Administration is short by about 3,500 air traffic controllers.
TCC’s program will also be the only local pipeline to the career.
“There are currently no air traffic control programs within 50 miles of DFW, and none at a Texas community college, positioning Tarrant County College to lead,” Blankenbaker told trustees.
The program has a long runway before it can get off the ground, Skidmore said. The college must plan courses, purchase a simulator and pass inspection by the FAA.
