There are currently 182 pages to this thread and I have to confess to not having read most of them. What I have done, though, is successfully passed the NATS selection process and spent a good few weeks now in Hurn learning all sorts of stuff - some interesting, some downright tedious and seemingly irrelevant - about ATC. I've skipped through some of the more recent posts and thought I'd add my tuppence worth. Any questions, please PM me as I don't really have time to read the forum any more.
To the poster who complains about outdated and inaccurate information from HR - get used to it! A great deal of the information you pick up from here and the automated emails received from NATS will be, at best, questionable. For this reason I spent a long time having a low opinion of the recruitment process. Now that I'm "in", I have to say that I think NATS may be doing something right...
The training is intense beyond belief. I came into this with so called evidence that I am more intelligent than average but, having witnessed the ability of my colleagues to digest the barrage of information thrown at us, I now have to consider myself the epitome of mediocrity. To the person who asked a few pages back about whether having a PPL will help, my answer is mixed. Whichever discipline you end up doing (area or airports), you will spend a total of about 4 weeks in the classroom studying theory, of which I'd say 80% is covered in PPL exams and you will have a much easier time of it than most. Once that's done and they sit you in front of a radar screen, you'll suddenly realise that you're all in the same boat, and in fact the terminology and shortcuts you learnt for bimbling in Class G airspace is actually counterproductive, although thankfully not to an excessive degree.
Back to whoever complained about 'needlessly' learning the motivation paper inside out. If you think that's tough, don't bother asking for a position doing Area. 8 weeks into the course we sat a written exam which requires learning 30+ pages (8,000+ words) of text verbatim. That's word for word recital of a pseudo-legalese document. All being well, the next course of training sees that increase to more than 100 pages of text. This is to be learnt in our own time: be under no illusions, it's hell and you will have no life for the next 3 years. Personally, I am self doubting, but I'm finally coming to accept that if the NATS selection process saw me through then perhaps I can do it after all. If you fail the application process and your reasoning is that you were told to learn stuff that didn't come up, then this isn't the career for you. To the rest of you, give it your best shot and if you really want this opportunity then you'll probably get it. National Minimum Wage awaits you!