NATS No longer hiring trainees?

[stoneyrosetreered]

I'm sorry if this is a silly question but I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on this. I finally got round to sending in my NATS trainee ATCO application and the response I got was...

"I am sorry to have to inform you that you will not be invited for selection on this occasion. There was a good response to our advertisements, making selection particularly difficult."

Also looking at the NATS Careers site there is a closing date of March 14th, something I had not noticed before, I know bags of people who have gone through the assessment but I have never heard of that response before.

Anyone able to spill the jellybeans on when they may re open, and does this mean I have to wait 12 months before re applying?

[BeT]

Sounds to me like you're out at the 1st stage buddy - a case of better luck next time...... not sure why you would think they arent hiring though?

[stoneyrosetreered]

I haven't even done stage one yet, and i'm a bit confused myself as to why they have set a closing date, do they just close it for a few months then re open it later in the year?

[timelapse]

Could it be because you fell short of the entry requirements? 18+, started some higher education, etc?

[stoneyrosetreered]

Nope, I'll give hr a ring tomorrow see what those lovely people can tell me.

Thanks for the responses though well appreciated.

[anotherthing]

stoneyrosetreered

It might be that you have failed the real first stage, which is a paper sift of applicants.

Not everyone gets past the initial application.

It is still worth trying to find out from HR where you fell short; though don't hold your breath - some of the recruitment side of HR are not the most switched on, so you may not get a decent response, (bear in mind (and to be fair to the more competent amongst them), that as well as some general ineptitude, HR do have a high volume of applicatons to wade through to give you feedback)

[stoneyrosetreered]

Again, thanks for the responses. I will make the call now.

Cheers,
James

[radar707]

It always used to be the case that all applicants that met the initial criteria were invited to the stage 1 selections don't see why it should have changed

[aerotech07]

Also looking at the NATS Careers site there is a closing date of March 14th, something I had not noticed before, I know bags of people who have gone through the assessment but I have never heard of that response before.

When I look on the NATS careers site, the only jobs with a closing date are for experienced air traffic controllers. The trainee air taffic controller's job still has no end date and is open for application.

I hope you get/got the answer you were looking for from HR :ok:

[anotherthing]

Radar 707

there is a paper sift first, after the application form has been returned. Then people who get through this paper shuffling exercise are invited to the initial testing

[DAL208]

They do it fairly often, actually.

They get more than enough applications for certain dates for 1st assessment, so at some point they just stop taking applications....closing dates are nothing new.

They will start again in 2-3 months, it doesnt count towards your 1st attempt so dont need to wait a year...not that you ever do anyway

[Fidgell]

Real Madrid wont consider me to play for them.... Must have enough players and not be hiring I guess!!! :ugh:

[Gonzo]

Recruitment is a constant process, it doesn't stop for 2-3 months and then begin again.

[stoneyrosetreered]

It turns out that it was an issue with how the information was sent to them, some IT thing but it is all sorted now and I have my stage 1 date, and aero your absolutely right in my rush to look for a reason I clicked on apply to NATS as an ATCO rather than a trainee.

Cheers guys

[Sweet Potatos]

Hey guys ... could one of you good Nats kids PM me.

I'm thinking of applying for the experienced controller ad .. and I have a Q!
:)

[kraggy]

Fidgell,

How on earth is a comment like that helpful to the OP?

Is your own life so void of interest that you have nothing better for doing than being cynical towards someone who is genuinely interested in joining ATC?

And is it beyond the realms of possibility that there was a temporary closing date placed on applications thus making the OP's question entirely warranted?

No wonder you want to play for Real Madrid. Crap, cynical club who see fit to sack their managers no matter how successful they are.

[mrinterpol]

Kraggy, are you actually a controller or are you just some bored guy, 2 pints worse for wear in a Scottish hotel?

That post was about as pointless as the other guy's.