The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) make changes to its workforce planning methods as the demand for commercial space launches increase.
Commercial spaceflight includes both satellite launches and the launch of actual, private customers. Predictions show it to be a growth industry in the coming years, and it is one that the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) oversees. That office, as a result, is planning a rollout of new technologies, efficiency improvements to national airspace management and partnerships with industry. They want to reduce the effect such launches would have on other airspace users and get air traffic controllers more data in real time.
All of that, however, requires a larger workforce. GAO said that while AST has moved to improve determinations of those needs, it fails to project its workload beyond a two-year budget cycle — a fact they label as ineffective and non-strategic planning. The report noted that it takes years to train engineers with the appropriate skills to lead projects, and hiring technically qualified personnel, in general, has already proved challenging for the agency. That said, AST has indicated that they want to create a tool to annually collect information from their staff about what skills and competencies they possess — though they do not yet have a timeline for this.
As a result, GAO made four recommendations to AST. They seek the development of workload metrics that span the whole of AST to give them an appropriate workforce size and composition. They also want the AST to create a timeline for finalizing long-term workload projections. Beyond standard skills assessment surveys, they want the AST to query its staff on skills and competencies needed now and in the future. Finally, they also want the AST to develop and document a plan to assess its staff’s capabilities to achieve program goals.
The AST has agreed with all of these recommendations.