From the HR people
Okay girls and guys,
I've been speaking to my contacts in Canberra HR and have found the following information about ATC recruiting delays.
The ATC school, (which is known as the ATC Learning Academy), is running to maximum capacity. The Academy is still putting trainees through ATC courses now, with those recruits selected from the selection exercises run in early 2009.
Aside from this, there are also a large number of courses being run to train controllers (mostly from the centres) who are transferring to towers and approach units throughout the country.
There are also two new towers opening. One in Broome and one in Karratha, WA, which requires the training of an additional 20 - 30 current controllers who are transferring there. It will involve training in the new airspace created for these new towers. Consequently, the Academy is going flat chat right through to late this year.
Aligned with the huge amount of training occurring at the Academy, is that a new tender for the psychometric testing is in the process of being finalised, associated with a review of the recruiting process/methodology. This means that the next stage of recruitment (psychometric testing) for ATC trainees will commence by October 2010 for those who applied for the 30 April cutoff.
In other words, we still need ATCs, but we can't put all the trainees through the Academy as quickly as we need controllers.
So hang in there.
DP