Not a bond per se, but will discourage cutting and running to sunnier climes until we get some return of service. If an ATCO was later found to be useless and hade their licence removed, then that would be a get out of jail free card as it's not disciplinary.
Only successful ATCOs who leave NATS of their own volition, or by doing something to upset the applecart would have to pay.
If its true what they say (that management read Pprune) I'd expect it to be implemented by the year's end
On paper i'm sure it looks great (especially from those of us who are already inside NATS and never had such a system, and indeed a lot of people who went through training when the T&Cs were excceptionally better).
However I'm not sure it would help. Someone could leave before validation, and to some regional units a Student license will still be incredibly attractive; and if someone already has a few months of training, even more so.
Really though, is the issue such a problem at all? I guess it applies to NSL far more than NERL. But are ATCO trainees leaving in their droves to fill positions at rival airports? I think ATCOs of ALL levels of seniority and experience are leaving NATS for greener pastures, not just the newbies.
Bonding trainees would be like repairing a leaking water main with an elastoplast. People leaving NATS are from all grades.