:rolleyes: SERCO again :rolleyes:

[BombBay]

Does anyone actually work for SERCO now?
A quick glance at the back pages of Flight magazine would seem to indicate that either all their atco's have left, or there's a massive staff expansion programme at their UK and overseas stations.
Aahh! The luxury of working at West Freugh, North Denes or Scatsta! Wish I had a real ATC job http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/tongue.gif

[Chilli Monster]

Well - if you're looking for a quiet life there's someone at one of the aforementioned places that would quite happily swap ;)

The ad is due to various reasons - contract size increases, the retirement bulge that all ATC units will be suffering from in the future, plus the natural movement of people.

However - I find your 'real ATC job' comment somewhat offensive. We haven't all had the benefit of a NATS cadetship whilst being paid. Some of us couldn't (in my case due to age, NOT ability) so have done such things as paid for our own initial ADC rating and have had to bond ourselves to organisations such as SERCO to further our careers - maybe you'd like to come down from your gilded tower and see how the other half exist. Maybe you should be careful where you aim your insults - not at fellow ATCO's but the system and what it has created.

CM

[PPRuNe Radar]

As someone working for the UK's biggest provider, I also found BombBay's comments very patronising, even if meant in humour.

It's not so very long ago that NATS provided services at some of the fringe airfields...in fact West Freugh was one. Who is to say that the challenges the ATC staff (our professional colleagues in case you'd forgotten) face at units such as these are not as demanding as those faced in some of the high profile units we all work at. Traffic levels are not the only thing which need to be considered when deciding how hard the task is.

With the obvious exceptions of some of the antagonistic SERCO posters here in recent months, those of you who took the time out to meet our colleagues at other non NATS units would probably find that they're a pretty similar bunch to us. They try to provide the same service, put up with the same lousy equipment and political garbage that we do, and strive to keep aircraft safely apart. It's got to be a team game in the very confined limits of UK airspace. Elitism and one upmanship are the last thing we need.

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PPRuNe Radar
ATC Forum Moderator
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[slurp]

i agree wholeheartedly with you ...just think the SERCO posters in the past got too far up peoples noses ..

[BombBay]

Ooh 'eck - I seemed to have caused major offence!
None intended - the main aim of the post was to point out the deficiancies of SERCO and the way they operate, Last minute damage limitation, and this seems to have been substansiated by the content of Chillies reply.
I have many friends who are atcos in SERCO and would never dream of insinuating that our abilities differ just because of the company we work for.
For your information, I paid for all my own ratings, I have worked for both NATS and SERCO, and I now work for an independant employer in the UK.
Keep digging the escape tunnel! http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/tongue.gif

[PPRuNe Radar]

Fair enough BombBay, it's just one of the downsides of non verbal and visual personal communication I think.

I'm sure if we'd been discussing it in the pub the light heartedness would have come through. Incident closed on receipt. ;)

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PPRuNe Radar
ATC Forum Moderator
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[This message has been edited by PPRuNe Radar (edited 15 April 2001).]

[12Left]

I am sure that no offence was meant. It has to be said that from an employment perspective it is all a bit of a minefield. Anyway have to say that I also work for an independant in the UK and it seems to be doing very well. Quite sure that you will be hearing more of us although only a few mentions to date.