New TATCO course structure

[Brett Davis]

Hi All,

Just heard some info in passing that I was hoping someone could shed some light on.

I'm about to start my application for the 3rd time (failed initial day 1st time, and failed the final day last time) and I've just found out some info relating to moving forward. I'm optimistic as my feedback said I was a near miss and I know what I need to work on [fingers crossed].

Now here is the interesting part - FYI the final day of the interview process has been split in to 2 1/2 day interviews to relieve some of the pressure (and help build the tension even more ) but more interestingly is the new course structure...

The new course as of the September 07 course at Hurn is only 13 weeks long. After that the candidate gets posted straight to the unit. Apparently I'm told the motivation behind this was as a solution to the unit's unhappiness with the quality of people coming from the college - so now they have taken it upon themselves to complete the training of the potential ATCO’s.

Is there any more info about this floating around, such as what is covered etc. (or more importantly what isn’t covered)? Also, how much prep is going in to this? I think it's a good idea from what little I know, but how much effort are the units going to invest on the in-house training of recruits from such a low level? While I want to get in to an ATCO role as soon as possible, would it be wise to postpone my start date so as not to get on the initial 'guinea-pig' course?

How does this affect the hours and pay? With the previous model, trainees went on to a slightly higher pay grade once they left the college - does that still apply meaning pay will go up sooner, or have they adjusted the rules to keep the candidates on the basic pay even while at the unit.

Does this mean that the trainee starts OJTI a lot sooner, or does the course continue as previously, just at a different location per se?

Thanks in advance for any info.

B