Hi,
I'm working in Switzerland, and i can say that the training is quite similar as the training in Germany.
1st year (in ZHR)
3-4 months theory (and only theory)
7-8 months of basic simulations in a completely fancy airspace, with fancy flow of trafic and procedures
If you managed to survive this years, you finally get the chance to see what "Air Trafic Control" looks like.
Students dispached either to Zurich or Geneva, and back to the classroom for 2 months, and 3 more months of sim on the "real sectors". Finally about 1 years of OJT before the final check.
Big problem of the school: during the 1st year all the courses / simulations are given by instructors (from all over the world) who didn't talked to a/c since ages, and don't even know what the systems and the procedures are know!!! I feel like they just manage their school and just don't care about what the units really need... To my point of view it should be the other way round.
Things get better afterwards when the get to the units. For the time we are just enough controllers, and we can still dispach contollers (or permanent instuctors who know how it's working) to teach the theory and coach the students on the simulator, so they get the right inputs.
Concerning OJT, all controllers have to become an OJTI after about 3 years of license. Remains the problem that not all OJTI are good teachers, and are motivated...and it's probably going to remain like that.
As an aditionnal information, just about 25-35% of the students who begin the school manage to become a controller. About 40% fail the 1st year and the rest in the units...
Looking at these results, is ATCO going to be an endangered species
