Gonzo wrote:
TAD,I've been at LHR for nine years. For the first four years of that there was no real assessment selection process. In that five years we had over ten ATCOs come to us from other units...most from 'busy' units such as TC and AC. Only one validated.
I would expect to undergo an assesment if I went to
any airport, not just Heathrow, if I came from AC or TC (a radar only uit) - it's not surprising you had only one validation out of ten or more applicants..... Heathrow is not a special case... anyone from a radar only unit going to a tower only unit is going to find it more difficult.
DataDad,
It's very offside that they wanted you to do the radar skills side of things, though to tell the truth, I think that if you had gone ahead with it, you would definately have benefited from doind the basic area course (or 'area one') before the advanced ('area 2') course.
Unfortunately this company has a history of making bad decisions in this regard, as alluded to by Gonzo in one of his earlier posts (#43), however I still find it incredibly elitist that Heathrow hand picks student from the college who are deemed to be good enough - thereby inferring that other airports are not as challenging!!