Tchocky

Eurocontrol do indeed train at other sites, I'm starting in November at Austrocontrol, then moving to Luxembourg. Will advise on pass rate :P


What are the allowances? I've heard nothing about these

DiCampo

The first two months or something like that, we got a daily allowance to cover costs of moving and stuff like that. But this was 2 years ago, where we did the whole basic course in Luxembourg.

I'm not sure what the situation is now, but I think that during the theoretical phase of the institutional phase Eurocontrol puts you up in a hotel and pays that.
On moving to Maastricht, you get moving allowance again.

DIAF

Sorry for the late reply. Anyways, I think I didn't get the spot after the face to face interview because I had just recently moved to Europe. That is my best guess as I felt I did quite well in the interview. I passed the NATS interview so I think that was the reason back then.

captain747_747

can you mention the reasons why so many fail ?

Are people to stressed at the micro ? Is it too difficult to manage everything ?
Are instructors/examinators so hard ?

Can you explain a little bit please ? It is so strange a so high failure rate (and so frightening ;-) )


is there a kind of profile that fail more ? or have more success ? (eg engineer, pilot, ...) or is it case by case ?

dimdelu

in case of failure, is there a pay compensation ?

captain747_747

someone to answer ?

Lon More

I don't think things have changed much but the biggest reasons for failure era still probably lack of ability. commitment and the fear of live traffic. This won't necessarily come out at IANS or in the Sim but only when actual OJT has started. It is possible to some extent to BS your way through the initial phase. It is rumoured that one or two have made it through by sleeping with an instructor
OJT coaches might sometimes seem harsh - however don't forget. you are working on his/her Certificate of Competency and he/she may step in at any time and take over. If this happens too often you are heading for the chop. You are continually being assessed and your progress. or lack of it, will be discussed at least once a month by the OJT coaches and team Training Officer. The decision to terminate training will not be taken lightly. You will be briefed on your shortcomings, a change of OJT Coach, even of team. may be considered and tried before the dreaded day comes.

Why should there be? You failed, not Eurocontrol.

As usual. read the Eurocontrol website for info on salaries and shift working hours

captain747_747

at you mind, what are the main qualities to have to be successful in the formation ?

Lon More

I presume you mean during training?

Aptitude - without this forget it. Do something easy. like becoming a pilot

Aptitude - again

Study - some of it is boring and after passing the exam may be of little relevance to the rest of your career

Luck - a boxload of this is always useful

BeT

I think if you are chopped before getting your first validation you get back the contributions you made to the pension scheme and over a 2yr period that could be a decent wedge.

The main reasons for failure are lack of skills, attitude failure and in a few cases general immaturity - usually its a combination of these three.

The sector where I work has very committed training staff who will bend over backwards to get you to the final goal as long as the traine shows a willingness to learn and a good attitude. An attitude failure in more cases than not will lead to a career failure.

captain747_747

Thank you a lot for your answers. But I am wondering what you mean by "aptitude" ?
What kind of aptitude is completly necessary to be ATCO ? Multitasking ? Speaking performances ? Virtual 3D vision ? taking decisions ?

Can you explain what is so difficult to learn ? For example, you meant it is more difficult to be ATCO than airliners pilot. Why ? I though flying in 3D and multitasking in flight was pretty complicated (I just have a PPL).

For example, can you explain what is the typical difficulties for you to make you job ?

Moira

Unexpected situations.

Honest, captain747_747, I understand you want to be prepared but chill a bit, you can't prepare for everything!!!
Same thing for the job itself I'm afraid ...

mjt3

as an aside, are the medical examinations done around the time of the interviews, or closer to the start of training?

Tchocky

I had my interview around the end of April/beginning of May, and had the medical in July. Start training in November. But then again there are people starting training with me who had the medical sooner.
So, there's nothing set in stone

Lon More

Moira is correct. You cannot prepare for everything

During the interview it's common to move on quickly to another subject ifyou are well clued up on one. For two main reasons; to asses the breadth of yur knowledge and to throw you off balance.

Nothing in the job is predictable, even before you start

mportman

very interesting condition at eurocontrol. Think to move there. is it possible to get a company car as supervisor like at NATS ?
on the top of this salary, what are the fringe benefits ? (meal voucher, company car, ...)
seems to be the best of europe...

Hotel Tango

Company car? Meal voucher? You won't need them!

mportman

what do u mean ? Too high salary ?

Avman

Do NATS supervisors really get company cars?

No such thing as too high a salary. If you're paid a decent salary, you don't need extra perks.

Lon More

Provide your own meal vouchers. They're called Euros
Company (in the) car - aka sharing the drive.

Other perks? You get the choice of the mile-long hike to the canteen on breaks or going upstairs to watch the latest 747 off the runway incident