Originally Posted by
Cheesefootball
I am not whinging about the postings, I am whinging about the manner in which they were delivered. A NATS representative could have easily visited Global and told them in the relatively private classroom environment because no matter what you have signed it can still take a minute or two adjust to where you are going to spend your career. It is also very poor that the TATC’s only find out at the end of the course so they have got to scrabble about at short notice to find rented accommodation.
Thank you for correcting my spelling of Prosecco ( that was the really important part of the post ), the statement was reference to NATS sending a representative for a possible jolly ( in fact they sent more than one ) meal etc which is fair enough however at least give the students the chance of adjusting to a major change in their life and then take them out later to celebrate/ drown their sorrows.
And just for the record in the dim and distant past I did not get my original choice of posting :-)
Oh and the person who was posted 1300 miles away from their training base did they know beforehand that they were going to be sent to Gib ( I presume ) or was it a complete surprise to them?
I'm afraid it is about the posting: I doubt very much that those who got what they'd hoped for are complaining. So it's not you that's "suffering" then? It's someone else who's been offered a career with one of the most respected ANSPs, with great pay & benefits, subject to them passing their final check exams? The only flaw, not at the destination they'd set their heart on. This, in spite of clearly & regularly being advised, & signing to that effect, that there's no guaranteed postings, & also told, it's a mobile contract, you can move or be moved, that's the business. That's not the case for many of those outside the larger ANSPs, it's application after application, trying to find somewhere to fit, & moving around the country to make it work - and this after paying for their training, not having it paid for them.
The two NATS managers (not"representatives") are the people responsible for their training, & who they report to: they made the effort to drive a 200 mile + round trip, in their own time, to take the course for a meal to pass on the news - rather than by post or email & that's a jolly is it? Sounds more like dedication to doing the best they can to me; certainly knowing the people involved, they don't enjoy giving uncomfortable news. How do you know they didn't ask for quieter facilities, & that simply wasn't available for reasons beyond their control? You think people go out of their way to make life difficult? Hardly, life's difficult enough as it is.
Of course people find out their posting at the end of the course - how else do you propose to balance the business need with unit requirements & personal desires, when there's no guarantee how many people there'll be until they've passed all their assessments? If there was a better system, they'd be using it. The units don't want "maybes", they want someone with a student licence, ready for unit training.
No, the person going to Gibraltar didn't know he was going there until he read his posting letter. To be posted outside the UK, he has to be comfortable with the decision, & can decline it, the NATS union agreements are clear about that. However, he'd have no say over any alternative option, he'd be back in the pot with everyone else. He may not have been the only one to say he'd be happy if the option was there, either; so it's quite possible someone else didn't get Gib, when they wanted it, too.
If people don't want to take the risk of being posted somewhere they don't like, then there are other options available to them. Most people are just happy with the immense sense of relief that they've passed that hurdle & are onto the next phase of their career.