ATC shortage not unique to Guyana – CATS Principal

…says Govt not looking to replace ATCs with AI

The Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) is bemoaning a situation in which the aviation industry is losing workers to the oil and gas sector.
In 2024 Guyana Times had reported that 20 Air Traffic Services staff had resigned, with nine resignations associated with Air Traffic Services for the period January to December 2023, comprising seven Air Traffic Controllers and two AIS/AIM officers.
According to the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), from exit interviews conducted, three employees had related that “better opportunities” was their reason for leaving, while the other six had referenced non-financial reasons.
In an interview with the Guyana Times, Principal of the Guyana Civil Aviation Training School (CATS) Clifford Van Doimen highlighted that the shortage of Air Traffic Controllers in the country has been a decades long issue.
He added that the shortage of Air Traffic Controllers has been a global issue over the years.
“I can tell you I’ve been in this industry for upwards of 30 years, and attrition and shortage of control has always been a problem. We, between 2014 to maybe 2018, we’ve started to really arrest the problem.”
“And that’s not indigenous to only Guyana[but] across the world. So, [it’s] something we’ve got to deal with,” the principal added.
According to Van Doimen, as part of efforts to ensure that Guyana’s airspace is adequately monitored, the Guyana Civil Aviation Training School (CATS) has been closely monitoring the country’s aviation sector to identify gaps.
“So, we would train for air traffic services in a needs basis. Basically, when persons leave and there is a deficit, we would train or take on a batch and train…Notwithstanding, we’re still having persons at the top leaving.”
“Within the last two years, maybe two and a half years, we’ve seen a very high percentage of persons leaving for the oil industry, but we’ve not been placed or put in a place where we cannot run the system. The system is being run and the training programs we have are quite robust to facilitate the attrition, or match, the attrition rate that we’re experiencing.”
According to the principal the most recent intake of Air Traffic Controllers comprised some 25 persons from across Guyana.
The programme consisted of three months of academic instruction followed by three months of practical, on-the-job training.
Van Doimen revealed that these individuals would have already completed the course, and are currently going through the on-the-job training phase; he added that they are expected to join the workforce within a month.
Successful graduates of this programme are guaranteed employment with the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority, with ongoing training opportunities for career advancement.

No intention of replacing ATCs with AI
The rise of automation and AI is transforming the workplace, impacting job roles across various industries, including high-tech manufacturing.
But this shift is also causing job roles to evolve, with some becoming obsolete while new ones emerge. One such job which the principal highlighted is not becoming obsolete is the role of Air Traffic Controllers. He highlighted that stakeholders are not currently looking to incorporate AI with air traffic controlling.
“We have not yet reached that stage. I can tell you that very few countries are even looking at it. The air traffic controller has not yet become obsolete. There is still the need for air traffic control.”
In fact, he referenced developed countries such as the United States of America (USA) that are currently dealing with Air Traffic Controller shortages, highlighting that these countries have reverted to alternative measures such as increased training and rehiring retired individuals.