G'day all,
Unfortunately the way the college works you don’t even get to ‘pretend’ to be an air traffic controller until months into the course. Doesn’t really help connect the theory with anything (in my perspective) and also made it hard for us to know if we even suited the job until we finally got to put a headset on.
This one paragraph tells all that is wrong with ATC training, not just Airservices Academy. People like you spend years trying for selection (while the world and other careers pass by) then, once selected, face very high-pressure training - all without any real indication that you actually have the ability to do the job. Psychometric Testing goes part of the way (if you get to that stage), but it doesn't test for
actual ATC skills. Once on course the pressure really mounts, because there is a time limit - you can't go and take extra lessons and re-sit exams like people training for any other career can. And, the peer pressure (not wanting to be the one that falls) is all-consuming. Which is why there is a wide variation in success rate between courses that have been selected by the same testing process. Once someone fails the jitters really set in and the big snowball is waiting to escape.
All of this I was deeply exposed to during my years as an instructor at Airservices College, as it was called then. I saw so many young people go through the fires of hell, just to get through training. The stress of it is far worse than that of actual ATC. I retired for the one purpose of doing something about the flawed selection and training process. Computers have improved dramatically in recent years and PC-based practical training and simulation are now readily available, and at minimal cost compared to the formal set-up.
This is a forum and I am not out to advertise here, but that quote prompted me to contribute to the thread. Can I just suggest you do a Google and YouTube search for ATCX.
I can empathise with what you are all going through, but be assured there is no career like ATC, just keep at it and don't let anyone or anything stand in your way.
Rgds