Gonzo
Sounds like it needs a bit of streamlining. A bit insulting really to ask someone who may have been doing the job for 10 years plus to go back to school and do a basic approach or area course. This maybe the reason why there aren't many foreign contollers working for NATS in the UK.
Be it tower,approach or area...the basic tools will be in place with previous experience...and then all it takes is learning the MATS and local procedures. Tweaking the phraseology and such comes from on the floor training.
One for CATC to come up with..a NATS version of an "experienced controller program".
To be fair...NATS probably has enough wannabes applying not to need to recruit from abroad. Correct me if I am wrong.