In an attempt to put the record straight, the following is a copy of an email sent today (12/02) to all staff at CATC (hereinafter known as DAT&S) setting out what is happening vis-a-vis recruitment, stopping courses and why. I have to say that it is something some of us have been arguing for for some time, and seems eminently sensible.
There has recently been speculation about our intentions regarding the next few intakes of trainees, and I thought it might be helpful to tell you what's going on. As many of you know, when we stopped shift work here after 11 September, we kept our commitments to those trainees to whom we had already made employment offers. This, coupled with a shortage of area instructors, which has restricted the size of ACS1 and ACS2, has given us a significant backlog of holding trainees - in fact, we now have the equivalent of almost one complete course holding. Given that fact, plus our plan to stop using trainees as ATSAs at Swanwick, and the need to introduce our new course structure starting in 2004, it makes absolute sense to
reduce the number of new trainees coming into the system.
Although the final decision has not yet been made, it is likely that we will drop the course scheduled to start at the beginning of July. It may be that we will also have to reduce intake numbers again later in the year, but we are still working on that, and how best to programme instructor training for the new ACS course. Because of the number of holders we have here, plus the
number of trainees replacing ATSAs at Swanwick, it will not mean a reduction in the number of people undergoing validation training or a slowing down of the delivery of new operational controllers.
Finally, you may be interested to know that due to a combination of the efforts of Recruitment Services, and an apparent change in the labour market, there are currently sufficient successful applicants to fill our needs for the next twelve months or so. This contrasts with the last few years, when we were having to work very hard to get enough people through the door at the start of each course.
Well, there you are then, from the horse's mouth. I shall probably now have to adopt a new nom de guerre, but then again, maybe not.
Sooner or later I shall see some of you here at CATC..oops, DAT&S!