Women outperformed the men in the air traffic controller test of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), grabbing seven of the top 10 slots.
According to the CAAP, only 158 of the 1,078 who took the Civil Aviation Officer Candidate Scholarship program (CAOCSP) passed. With the cutoff score pegged at 55, only around 14 percent passed the test. Of the 10 topnotchers, seven were women.
The development, CAAP spokesman Eric Apolonio said, was very promising for the CAAP which is aiming to put together the “next generation of aviation professionals.”
Apolonio explained that the CAOCSP was specifically set up to seek out the country’s most qualified and capable air traffic control officers and fill up the requirement for 1,000 of the technically skilled aviation workers. The country currently has only over 700 air traffic controllers.
Each CAOCSP 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 last for up to two years.
“It (CAOCSP) will ensure that officer candidates will not only be trained for first post assignment but also be prepared for a continuous professional evolution,” Apolonio pointed out, adding that the entry-level salary of an air traffic controller was above that of middle-level corporate employees.
The CAOCSP was simultaneously held on July 11 in six testing centers in Pasay City, Laoag, Cebu, Iloilo, Zamboanga and Cagayan de Oro.
Apolonio identified the female passers among the top 10 as: Bettina Collantes, who got 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 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 and with good moral character. They should be a degree holder of any course, computer literate and with 20/20 vision.