[RobertB]

May 1 – New ATO Technical Operations hires are getting on the job sooner thanks to an initiative that has already been successfully used to speed up controller hiring.
Forty candidates for airway transportation systems specialist positions within Tech Ops walked away with tentative offer letters after attending recent one-stop Pre-Employment Processing Centers (PEPCs) in Miami and Atlanta.
The Miami PEPC (pronounced like the soft drink) was the third held this fiscal year and the first to include Tech Ops candidates.
“By the time of the Miami PEPC, candidates were calling us because they knew they could complete their processing in five to six hours,” explained Pat Spatarella, ATO PEPC program lead.
So far, the four PEPCs held this year in New York, Jacksonville, Miami and Atlanta have processed a total of 350 air traffic control specialist candidates, in addition to the 40 Tech Ops candidates. By combining interviews and pre-employment processing requirements, PEPCs cut down to a few hours a process that normally takes several months.
Spatarella said the success of the week-long PEPCs relies heavily on the participation of facility managers from around the country who come in to conduct the interviews over a one- to two-day period. More than 100 managers have been on site at the four PEPCs.
“We have a lot of people doing a lot of work,” said Spatarella, “and all participants – interviewers and Aerospace Medicine, Security, Human Resources, Acquisition, Terminal, En Route and Tech Ops staff – are as excited as we are. They see the process as a meaningful one in supporting the agency's goals. They see the great attitudes of the candidates.”
This week, 71 Terminal, 85 En Route and 31 Tech Ops candidates are expected at a PEPC in Fort Worth, Texas. Thirty managers are on hand to interview.
The next PEPCs will take place in Chicago during the week of May 19 and Los Angeles the week of June 16, with additional PEPCs to be held through the end of the fiscal year.