Air Traffic Controllers - a loss of skills?
Listening once again to the sound file PH-UKU posted, it got me thinking about training of Air Traffic Controllers today. Do experienced controllers out there involved in training think there has been a loss or omission in the teaching of some essential skills for Mr or Ms Ab-initio off the street with no flying/aviation background.
I believe NATS have well and truly started their "speciality specific" streaming into either Airports/Approach or Area. Here in Canada, IFR training is now being conducted at the regional Centres, and I haven't seen the curriculum, but wonder will there be components of the training that were taught not that long ago that are now being removed from programmes to get the trainees through faster.
Just a couple of examples I could think of include the flying training NATS provided (I don't know if it is still being done). Other things like navigation (some guy in his /S Cherokee who's a little geographically misplaced), weather (the effects of icing on aircraft performance etc), familiarisation flights getting controllers on the flight decks to see things like workloads, the involvement of pilots/airlines in emergency training of controllers.......are these things still being included in cirriculums, or falling by the wayside in the shadow of the almighty dollar/pound/euro/shekle?