NATS college life

[smellysnelly2004]

Hello all,
I've been at the college for 4 weeks now and thought I'd post a brief desciption of what goes on for all the guys and girls going through selection/interview/waiting for their course. Just make one thing clear - all this happened on our course, 211, but may not necessarily happen next time.
You'll get sent a DLP to learn on Navigation which you'll be tested on in the first week. We had a 3 day induction with lots of team building stuff, free food and the various admin stuff that needs to be done. All good stuff.
Then it's off to Hurn on the Thursday to start real lessons. From that moment on prepare to be bombarded by a lot of info - 6 hours of lessons each day. Different people do a different amounts of study each night to keep up with the learning - myself it's about 2 hours a night plus a 4 hour(ish) stint on a Sunday to make sure some of it's sinking in. The first 5 weeks is all theory in the class then the sim runs start. Next week we'll be into mock written exams then the week after the real written exams.
Overall there's a good atmosphere around the place.
Any questions, feel free to PM me :p:ok:

[Inca_Gold01]

It's been a fair while since i had my rating course but what fun the college is. Althoug smellysnelly sounds like he/she does a lot of work, 2 hours a day isn't all that neccesary. To be honest a lot of the theory stuff will sit in better understanding wise once you hit the sim's, but keep plugging away with at least 1 hour a day and you will be streaks ahead of the rest of your course.

My biggest bit of advice to newbie's would be just to realise what an early stage of training the college is, and above all just enjoy it. Make a real effort to bond with people on your course as i guarantee (if you get sent to one of the NERL units) you will be spending a good few years working alongside at least one of them!!

[smellysnelly2004]

I'm definately a he!!
I don't think the problem is the understanding, just the sheer bulk of it - especially things like law which you just have to learn. I think the course has been compacted quite a lot recently. Everyone is different but I it would be hard to keep up in the initial theory burst with an hour a night.
Having said that, I wouldn't swap it for anything!!!:ok:

[Inca_Gold01]

dunno mate, my theory section was only 6 weeks. Law was a bit of a joke, is it still the multiple choice papers?

[smellysnelly2004]

Theory 5 weeks(4 and a half really) weeks and the exams are still mostly multi-choice

[wizad]

multi choice... wait to you get to area.. all full length verbatum,written exams, at least they were when we went through.

i here from friends who are instructors, the latest lot of intro course have a pretty dreadful pass rate.

good luck and maybe see you when you get to TC.

W

[DTY/LKS]

I have heard that on the Foundation Area course (AREA 1 to us oldies) that out of a starting number of 31 students, only 9 passed & 6 of those were re-courses.
Also the Advance Area Course (AREA 2) i heard there were only 10 passes. Don`t know how many started that course tho.
What the hell is happening down there? When i went through you were unucky if you had more than about 4 failures off a course of 30.
Surely these pass-rate figures can`t go on happening & something needs to be done.
Remember that these are the numbers that are passing college courses, nevermind actually validating at a unit.
So what do people think is to blame? The £10k salary or shortening of the course?
:ugh:

[smellysnelly2004]

Can't comment on pass rates as I've no idea what they are!!

The 10k is pretty tough but I'm not really sure that it affect results negatively. In a way it makes you more determined to get through as quickly as possible to get a pay increase.

Anyhow, as I said at the start, any questions about college feel free to contact me.

Cheers:)

[Permanent Echo]

I don’t think any one of the failures was due to lack of determination on the trainee’s behalf. Everybody works hard some just don’t make it.

True the results were shocking. As I hear it:

The latest basic course results showed that only 40 people passed from a course of 66. While this doesn't appear too bad on the surface, consider that at least 12 of these students were sitting the course second time around and it seems less impressive.

After the recent Aerodrome course, only 2 students passed and both had failed the course previously. 2 more passed the final air/ground summatives but had failed to pass an oral board.

Area Foundation saw similarly disappointing results. Of 30+ starters, only 9 passed, 6 of which were recourse students.

Area Advanced results were a little more promising but still 7 of 16 students failed, leaving issues about unit postings.

I don’t believe that the quality of TATCs can be so much lower than in previous years. In fact, if recruitment is at its best (as we are told), this would suggest the opposite, so what are the reasons behind these less than impressive results?

It could be the 10k salary as suggested. True it could be possible to survive on this for a short time, but watching every penny is just another pressure to add to those already put on you in college. Another pressure that, come the ratings courses, you will not need. It could be the fact that the courses are half the length they used to be in an attempt to save money. Nowadays students are only taught the basic knowledge and expected to fudge the rest together themselves with little or no time to consolidate before moving on. It could be the fact that the courses are overloaded. The instructors at the college do a fantastic job for the most part, but finding the time to build a rapport with 60 students on each course cannot be easy. It seems the philosophy of ‘the more you throw at it, the more will stick’ isn’t quite working here.

Personally i think it is an accumulation of all these factors and something needs to be done. Don’t let the system fail those that have the drive, ambition and above all, the potential, to become competent ATCOs and be part of what I believe to be the best career available.


Echo

[choclit runway]

Out of interest.... Are foreign providers still sending their students to train under NATS or do they go elsewhere?

Cheers

CR

[rickypbrown]

Thanks for the information smelly. As a course 212er, I now feel sufficiently worried and feel a change of underwear is necessary!

[Inca_Gold01]

while we're on this i heard a rumour that the last basic course to pass got their results by e mail? anyone know if this is true

[Scarf]

Affirm. They were away for the Easter leave, and got the results via e-mail (akin to the interview results in the selection phase). Makes more sense than keeping people waiting i suppose!

Ricky, as long as you work hard and get your head in the books as early as possible, the change of underwear won't be needed! Although.. it's nice to have it there just in case :P

[Inca_Gold01]

little bit insensitive??

Dear xx,

sorry but you've failed.

happy easter??

[Scarf]

Yeah, you could argue that! Spose it's insensitive whenever and whichever way you get it though. Finishing a course 3 days before Christmas and opening a failure letter isn't the greatest present in the world either :) From speaking to a few of the people who recieved their results that way, they seem to be happier it was sent via e-mail than having to wait the two weeks to travel back down to find out they've failed. Not sure which way I'd personally want it though!

Scarf

[intherealworld]

The problem is instructors tell management the course needs to be longer, and management decide its better to throw more people in at one end in an attempt to get more out of the other and slash the wage to 10k so it doesn't cost anymore! That seems to be working doesn't it?? :rolleyes: Hard luck for those guinea pigs who could've made it on previous incarnations of the course but have failed this time round because of lack of time for things to sink in and get chopped! Bring the training back to the units, where training can be tailored for the environment you will be working in and where you can be treated as a trainee not a number.

[Quincy M.E.]

while we're on this i heard a rumour that the last basic course to pass got their results by e mail? anyone know if this is true

Yeah but that was a one off cos they had to shave a few days off the course so they didnt have time to do the results before we went on leave. Having recieved my results via both methods i think i prefed being in the internet cafe!

[SACrIGGER]

Quincy,

If you weren't such a pikey, you could have been in the comfort of your own home, but instead you decide not to pay for broadband... off to the intenet cafe you trot!

[Dances with Boffins]

Permanent Echo

Just to set the record straight about the recent aerodrome course:-

1 awaiting re-course
1 studying hard for re-sit of oral-board [he'd better pass this time or there will be a murder!]
6 passed [1 re-sat oral, 3 re-sat Air/GMC phase which is a NATS "extra"].

Not quite as bad as you had painted it, and a tad unfair on 8 very hard-working individuals and their instructors.

[Quincy M.E.]

If you weren't such a pikey, you could have been in the comfort of your own home, but instead you decide not to pay for broadband... off to the intenet cafe you trot!

Well if we didn't get paid peanuts then maybe I could aspire to the luxuries you obviously surround yourself with!

[Permanent Echo]

DWB

Thanks for setting the record straight. I was just relaying the facts as i heard them but your update sounds much more promising.

Well done to those who got through :ok:

[Scarf]

Yahoo,

2 to Heathrow, one to another London airport