All,
Reading this all has been quite amazing, can't believe that there is such a shortage of staff and NATS are still making me wait a year to start training. As a result I am seriously considering whether I can a) afford and b) have the inclination to hang around for that period of time.
I am sure that I am not the only one, so have the situation that you need ATCO's, but the way NATS is set at the moment you are not getting them due to the time lag involved.