The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) announced on Sunday the results of its air traffic controller test where only 158 out of 1,078 examinees passed.
The CAAP said seven of the top 10 examinees for the Civil Aviation Officer Candidate Scholarship program (CAOSP) were women.
The results, CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio said, were quite promising for the CAAP, which has been aiming to put together the “next generation of aviation professionals.”
Apolonio explained that the CAOSP was specifically set up to seek out the country’s most qualified and capable air traffic control officers and completely fill up the requirement for 1,000 of the technically skilled aviation workers. The country currently has only over 700 air traffic controllers.
Each CAOSP passer is entitled to a scholarship worth nearly P400,000, which covers the aspiring air traffic controller’s benefits and allowances for the duration of the training, which could be for one or two years.
“It (CAOSP) will ensure that officer candidates will not only be trained for first post assignment but also prepared for a continuous professional evolution,” the CAAP spokesperson pointed out, adding that the entry-level remuneration of an air traffic controller exceeded the salary of middle-level corporate employees.
The CAOSP was simultaneously held on July 11 nationwide in six testing centers in the cities of Pasay, Laoag, Cebu, Iloilo, Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro, participated in by over 1,000 applicants.
With a cutoff score of 55, only about 14 percent were accepted in the CAOSP.
Apolonio identified the female passers among the top 10 as: Bettina Collantes, who achieved a score of 74; Rochelle Ann Labina, with 73; Cathy Venzon, Mayneth Vince Oftana, and Royce Formaliza, who all got 71; Michelle Mumar, with 70; and Janiz Suyko, with 69.
The CAOCSP, set up to ensure that there is no shortage of manpower in the aviation profession, is implemented twice a year. The next exam is set in December.
To be eligible for the program, an applicant must be a Filipino, single, not more than 26 years old, physically, mentally, and psychologically fit, with good moral character and has neither a criminal nor administrative case; has not been dishonorably removed from employment in government or a private firm; a degree holder of any course; with a good command of oral and written English; computer literate; and with 20/20 vision.
Just recently, the CAAP encouraged women to consider careers in the male-dominated aviation industry, where out of over 6,000 pilots, only 25 are certified aviatrixes most of whom work at Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and other airline firms.