CTC
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CTC
This is just a quick question to anyone who has any experience dealing with CTC or are currently with them now.
My son has decided that he would like to train as a pilot and what looks the best, and easiest, way to do everything and be pretty much guarantee a job at the end of it all. So below I have put a few questions that I could do with answering if anyone would be so kind.
1) Can you apply for ALL of the programs which they offer. I see currently they have 4/5 schemes running at the minute? Is it al case of you can only apply for 1 at a time or if you want you can apply for all of them?
2) What are they like to deal with? Are they helpful with the whole process from start to finish?
3) How are they when they are dealing with the financial side of the course?
4) What is te accommodation like that they provide? And When you undertake your flight training are all your costs covered for travelling and accommodation?
5) Are there any things they don't tell you, any surprise stunts they pull on you when you have started you course, or surprise expenses that weren't planned?
6) Realistically, how much expense money do you need to complete your course?
If anyone could help it would be great. Many Thanks
My son has decided that he would like to train as a pilot and what looks the best, and easiest, way to do everything and be pretty much guarantee a job at the end of it all. So below I have put a few questions that I could do with answering if anyone would be so kind.
1) Can you apply for ALL of the programs which they offer. I see currently they have 4/5 schemes running at the minute? Is it al case of you can only apply for 1 at a time or if you want you can apply for all of them?
2) What are they like to deal with? Are they helpful with the whole process from start to finish?
3) How are they when they are dealing with the financial side of the course?
4) What is te accommodation like that they provide? And When you undertake your flight training are all your costs covered for travelling and accommodation?
5) Are there any things they don't tell you, any surprise stunts they pull on you when you have started you course, or surprise expenses that weren't planned?
6) Realistically, how much expense money do you need to complete your course?
If anyone could help it would be great. Many Thanks
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BALPA
Not sure if you will have seen this yet but I found this booklet from BALPA very helpful. : http://www.balpa.org/My-Airline/Airl...rack-2013.aspx
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Doh!
You need to get your son more involved. He should be asking the questions on here.
It's so amusing at CTC to see a gormless boy/girl standing there saying absolutely nothing while his/her parents do all the talking.
Show some initiative, some assertiveness.
You won't be there to hold his hand for 18 months when the course starts, and he won't pass the selection process anyway if he lacks confidence.
It's so amusing at CTC to see a gormless boy/girl standing there saying absolutely nothing while his/her parents do all the talking.
Show some initiative, some assertiveness.
You won't be there to hold his hand for 18 months when the course starts, and he won't pass the selection process anyway if he lacks confidence.
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Also, no training "pretty much guarantees a job" unless you are on a tagged scheme. This is where the airline preselects candidates prior to training. The Virgin Atlantic and EasyJet MPL schemes are examples of this, as is the BA FPP scheme.
If your son is unable to get onto a tagged scheme, expect to pay another approx £25-30k on top of the advertised training fees. This will pay for a type rating for him, which ought to get him a temporary contract during which time he might impress an airline enough for them to take him on full time.
Finally, and this should have been said first, the first thing you need to do is make sure he can get a Class 1 medical because without this the rest of the questions are moot.
If your son is unable to get onto a tagged scheme, expect to pay another approx £25-30k on top of the advertised training fees. This will pay for a type rating for him, which ought to get him a temporary contract during which time he might impress an airline enough for them to take him on full time.
Finally, and this should have been said first, the first thing you need to do is make sure he can get a Class 1 medical because without this the rest of the questions are moot.
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As a Captain with a very orange company, I have two boys who wanted to become pilots. I presented them with all the facts and figures compared T&C from five years ago until present, based future. Prospects on those changes.
They have both chosen other careers. I am afraid to say having been in aviation since leaving school some......years ago, I could not now recommend any one becoming a pilot.
If your son is determined then make sure he goes in with his eyes open.You will have to take a secured loan against an asset of between approx £ 100,000
Good luck.
They have both chosen other careers. I am afraid to say having been in aviation since leaving school some......years ago, I could not now recommend any one becoming a pilot.
If your son is determined then make sure he goes in with his eyes open.You will have to take a secured loan against an asset of between approx £ 100,000
Good luck.
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Hi all
As a first timer, I thought I'd pipe up finally!
I think Captain Orange's comments are very valid indeed. As a dad with a potential ctc candidate I can also understand that as a parent we should support the tin lids to make sensible decisions.
After all it's almost always OUR MONEY that company's like CTC happily take!!
This gives us the right to ask such questions. We have done our homework and visited CTC open days and attended the other bun fight known as the flyer exhibition, it's too easy to get caught up with the slick sales talk etc. and almost push our kids to get in while everyone is so upbeat about the pilot shortage (?) and a 98% chance of a job!!
Guys wake up - send them off to do a sensible Degree first, get some life experience. If there are no jobs in 3 to 4 years then you've made a smart choice and have got a degree to fall back on. If CTC are still solvent and actively looking to prize peoples hard earned cash - then go for it.
As a first timer, I thought I'd pipe up finally!
I think Captain Orange's comments are very valid indeed. As a dad with a potential ctc candidate I can also understand that as a parent we should support the tin lids to make sensible decisions.
After all it's almost always OUR MONEY that company's like CTC happily take!!
This gives us the right to ask such questions. We have done our homework and visited CTC open days and attended the other bun fight known as the flyer exhibition, it's too easy to get caught up with the slick sales talk etc. and almost push our kids to get in while everyone is so upbeat about the pilot shortage (?) and a 98% chance of a job!!
Guys wake up - send them off to do a sensible Degree first, get some life experience. If there are no jobs in 3 to 4 years then you've made a smart choice and have got a degree to fall back on. If CTC are still solvent and actively looking to prize peoples hard earned cash - then go for it.
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1) As far as I'm aware you can apply for them all, I can't see why not... May be worth giving CTC a call to find out too, they also have a few informal Q+A sessions on Face....
2) Not overly, when I started, the pre-course admin was a total shambles. Chatting to guys going through it now it doesn't seem any better. A recent group of cadets showed up at Heathrow to find CTC had booked their tickets incorrectly resulting in a whole mess with the visas as names weren't matching.
3) Communication is exceptionally poor from management to their customers. You will need to chase for receipts of all payments. You pay the 'security bond' to a seperate CTC company called APL which seems to be managed by the same person.
4) I was lucky with my accomodation, during ground school we had a high quality recently furnished flat. The location was good, about 15 minutes from Nursling (where the training centre is) and close enough to the centre of Southampton. In New Zealand the accommodation is pretty good, rooms are to a high standard and it is well maintained, although the security is very poor. My complaint would be that it is in the middle of no-where and can be difficult to get out as you have to share cars. The accomodation costs are included in the fees but you will need transport to get to and from Nursling and Hamilton airport (although a CTC van does run at select times throughout the day and you can jump on for no extra cost)
5) Yes, quite a lot to be honest. They advertise that all remedial training is now included in the course price, but it turns out you still have to be for ground school, CPL, IR re-sits (exam fees). You will need to have an iPad for all ground school courses now. You will need to factor in the cost of new uniform when the current terrible quality one inevitable falls to bits. You will need to pay for insurance to cover the bond, both life and loss of license along with a NZ travel insurance policy. You will also need to pay for your license issue fee. Included in the price is all ground school material and flying equipment including a headset.
6) It depends how you like to live, some people do quite literally shut them selves away during ground school and have a very small expenditure. In NZ you can spend as much or as little as you wish, it's hard to give a clear cost as everyone's situation is different.
I've said it before but I strongly advise that anyone exhausts all possible tagged schemes before going down the self-sponsored road.
I second the BALPA leaflet, very informative.
Good luck
2) Not overly, when I started, the pre-course admin was a total shambles. Chatting to guys going through it now it doesn't seem any better. A recent group of cadets showed up at Heathrow to find CTC had booked their tickets incorrectly resulting in a whole mess with the visas as names weren't matching.
3) Communication is exceptionally poor from management to their customers. You will need to chase for receipts of all payments. You pay the 'security bond' to a seperate CTC company called APL which seems to be managed by the same person.
4) I was lucky with my accomodation, during ground school we had a high quality recently furnished flat. The location was good, about 15 minutes from Nursling (where the training centre is) and close enough to the centre of Southampton. In New Zealand the accommodation is pretty good, rooms are to a high standard and it is well maintained, although the security is very poor. My complaint would be that it is in the middle of no-where and can be difficult to get out as you have to share cars. The accomodation costs are included in the fees but you will need transport to get to and from Nursling and Hamilton airport (although a CTC van does run at select times throughout the day and you can jump on for no extra cost)
5) Yes, quite a lot to be honest. They advertise that all remedial training is now included in the course price, but it turns out you still have to be for ground school, CPL, IR re-sits (exam fees). You will need to have an iPad for all ground school courses now. You will need to factor in the cost of new uniform when the current terrible quality one inevitable falls to bits. You will need to pay for insurance to cover the bond, both life and loss of license along with a NZ travel insurance policy. You will also need to pay for your license issue fee. Included in the price is all ground school material and flying equipment including a headset.
6) It depends how you like to live, some people do quite literally shut them selves away during ground school and have a very small expenditure. In NZ you can spend as much or as little as you wish, it's hard to give a clear cost as everyone's situation is different.
I've said it before but I strongly advise that anyone exhausts all possible tagged schemes before going down the self-sponsored road.
I second the BALPA leaflet, very informative.
Good luck
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Is your son 100% sure?
Has he ever been at the controls of a light aircraft?
Has he considered taking some PPL lessons to start with?
Has he done his class 1 medical initial?
Does he know that pilots work long hours and are poorly paid (at least to start with)... If he is lucky enough to get a gig with easyjet after you've forked out £100k plus the type rating he'll start on something like £1000 a month...
Make sure it's absolutely what he wants to do. And send him down to his local airfiled and get him up in a C152 before anything else.
And if he doesn't know what a C152 is then you're both wasting your time.
Has he ever been at the controls of a light aircraft?
Has he considered taking some PPL lessons to start with?
Has he done his class 1 medical initial?
Does he know that pilots work long hours and are poorly paid (at least to start with)... If he is lucky enough to get a gig with easyjet after you've forked out £100k plus the type rating he'll start on something like £1000 a month...
Make sure it's absolutely what he wants to do. And send him down to his local airfiled and get him up in a C152 before anything else.
And if he doesn't know what a C152 is then you're both wasting your time.
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I'll just answer #5
They dont tell you there is a very high chance that your son will NOT get a job, and that you'll have paid £120,000 for him to become a waiter with no usable qualification. (There's a true story in there somewhere).
The same may happen with a degree. But the degree gives you a good foundation to build on if you don't get a job straight away.
They dont tell you there is a very high chance that your son will NOT get a job, and that you'll have paid £120,000 for him to become a waiter with no usable qualification. (There's a true story in there somewhere).
The same may happen with a degree. But the degree gives you a good foundation to build on if you don't get a job straight away.
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That's not quite true. As much as you may disagree with the way ctc operate and place people, the majority of CTC wings grads get a job with an airline. Yes, a lot go to eJ with a year on flexi but this then leads to a solid contract within 15 months maximum. There will always be a few people who don't make it, or have too many exam resits, fail to get first series passes or who fail the interview, but the vast majority get jobs!
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Thanks uberpilot, but I agree more with your post from September :
That was good advice.
I'm not sure what's changed in two months though?
unless you start on a mentored scheme with an airline you will more than likely not see airline employment
I'm not sure what's changed in two months though?
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Nah, ctc wings is pretty much the exception. I didn't train this way, but saw close hand those that did. Again, no guarantees are made, but the vast majority get jobs. There will always be a few that fail, but such is life. eJ have been taking people from CTC ATP pool so clearly there is sufficient demand from airlines.
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Depends how much 'bank of Mum and Dad' has to spare. If he can't get sponsored (or tagged as it seems to be called now), then you're looking at the prospect of a long period in the wilderness looking for work. I wouldn't believe ANY of the verbal diarrhoea spouted by these training organisations about your son's job prospects and how they have links to the airlines. They're a business and placing candidates in a job comes a very poor second.
As said before, I wouldn't encourage anyone to shell out that amount of cash unless they were sponsored (/ tagged), and even then, think carefully about whether he really wants to do this. Training is tough and long and a flight school has the ability to chop anyone. I've always said, getting sponsored is hard, staying sponsored is even harder. . . . was in my experience anyway....
Good luck.
As said before, I wouldn't encourage anyone to shell out that amount of cash unless they were sponsored (/ tagged), and even then, think carefully about whether he really wants to do this. Training is tough and long and a flight school has the ability to chop anyone. I've always said, getting sponsored is hard, staying sponsored is even harder. . . . was in my experience anyway....
Good luck.
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Dibden Manor 2014
Hi Guys
Going down to Dibden Manor next week for a selection day for Virgin Atlantic's Future Flyer's Program.
Could anyone who has gone through CTC's Selection Days recently provide any useful tips etc? Would be much appreciated.
Cheers!
Going down to Dibden Manor next week for a selection day for Virgin Atlantic's Future Flyer's Program.
Could anyone who has gone through CTC's Selection Days recently provide any useful tips etc? Would be much appreciated.
Cheers!
