AP and MNT,
as Chilli states, the salary is a lot less now - and bearing in mind the location of the college, it is quite difficult for people to make ends meet.
I was lucky, I got paid a good wage at the college - though it was a drastic pay cut from my previous job - but that was my choice.
If people understood (in the UK at least) more about what an ATCO is and does, then maybe we would get people willing to pay to train - I would far rather control than fly, but it is the 'little boys' dream of the glamour and adventure of flying that encourages people to save and pay themselves through the flying training.
As you both know, it is easier to train as a pilot than as an ATCO, you can pay yourself through flying training and even if you have a slight lack of aptitude, practice, practice and more practice will get you there (although it may cost an arm and a leg). The way the ATCO courses are run are much stricter in time frame and therefore are more of a risk when it comes to putting your own money on the line.
I know other countries get people to pay, and that you can do so in the UK, but that does not neccesarily make it the best way to recruit and attract the right people in the correct amount we need.