Yes Red Dragon, Sheffield is currently a Serco contract - renewal due early next year, but it would appear from the ad that this is unlikely, although I gather that Serco are yet to receive official notice.
I believe that Peel have also approached the resident controllers, offering such tempting dishes as consideration for radar courses (not for Sheffield surely) and first option on any jobs at Liverpool and Finningley as they occur. So Spoonbill it appears your assumption was correct.
But who would take a job at one airport in the hope that another might open and they might get a job there?
My sources inform me that all the resident controllers have turned Peel down and are moving within Serco. So what does that tell us?
Sheffield City Airport opened in 1998 and they have lost more flights - Amsterdam, Brussels, London City (twice) and Dublin (twice) - than they currently operate - Belfast City, which runs twice a day with 10 hours in between scheduled movements, oh and a saturday summer charter to Jersey. Not available to singles, which heavily restricts GA, the only based operators are a Police helicopter and a single R22 Heli school.
Morale is at an all time low with no flights and ground staff cuts are not doing anything to improve it. On top of all that, the MD is leaving and his replacement, the new Director of Aviation Services, Peel Airports Ltd appears to have other things on his mind: "I am looking forward to working towards Finningley airport becoming a reality and bringing a world class aviation facility to the communities and businesses of south Yorkshire and north Notts"
So what is the future?
Well the original developers have a deal with Sheffield council to provide an airport for 10 years. If this doesn't happen then the land will revert back to the council. So Sheffield has 6 years left, and then it will be redeveloped to enlarge the business park. Not much hope for investment then, and what signal does that send to the airlines?
So the ATC job then, well if hours of boredom sprinkled with extremely light traffic, in a control tower without decent facilities, and at an airport that is destined to close, is of interest to you then go for it. There again you might get a job at Finningley!!!
Good luck
