Originally Posted by
escaped.atco
I am led to believe they are no longer trainees but apprentices.
I really hope this post from Packer is tongue in cheek, is the implication that unless they are trained by NATS instructors and brainwashed/indoctrinated in NATS business practises and taught NATS defensive techniques, they are some sort of substandard controller? Does Packer realise there is a world outside of NATS where perfectly sane and competent controllers have been plying their trade and absolute horror, training other controllers, for a long time without telling the world they are the best? In my career I have worked with and trained some fantastic NATS controllers, I have also seen some that were borderline incompetent and should never have seen a licence. Likewise I could say the same for controllers that have been through an independent system and have never seen a NATS college.
The attitude that the only good controller is a NATS trained controller is both arrogant and ignorant.
Rant over, now back to the thread.
Well said
OJT should be something that the ATCO wants to do and is invested in the outcome, not just as another allowance. That said the unit still needs to function so a balancing act is often required!