Airways New Zealand ATC interview

[wantobe]

Hey guys,

I have an upcoming interview with Airways NZ for ATC trainee, I applied and got asked to complete the online personality test, and then got invited for a interview on the 4th of march. I have read all the stickys and done a search through to find any info I could to help me prepare for this. I found a lot of useless info, but nothing specifically for Airways New Zealand, if anyone out there can give me any info that will help with this interview, eg, how to prepare for it etc. It would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[wantobe]

Bump, hmm anyone ?

[conflict alert]

I don't even begin to try and understand what HR look for anymore. The selection process has changed so much over the last years. They seem to be very hot on the "Airways Values" at the moment. Suggest you read them on the Airways website and think of examples in your previous life that would reflect these. Outside of this, I wouldn't have a clue what goes on with selection anymore, and probably why no one has responded to your query.

Good luck.

[Tarq57]

I'd look at getting yourself a visit to an ATC unit. I imagine from your previous posts that Auckland Tower is probably the nearest one to you.

While there you can see what goes on, talk to the folk doing the job, and maybe ask some of the younger controllers about the interview process. (It's changed so much since I went through, I'd be hopeless to advise you. It's all about the Airways values and being a good team player. Something about being good. Oh, yeah, and safety.)

Try and organise it via Airways, and liaise/speak with the team leader at AATWR.

[wantobe]

Alright, ill try give them a call tomorrow. see how it goes. Thanks guys.

[Tarq57]

Out of interest, why do you want to be an Air Traffic Controller?

[wantobe]

Well I'm doing the diploma in aviation science course, which is pretty much full pilot course starting in april. at the time I applied for it I also applied for ATC, Well as most of us on here.. being around planes puts a smile on my face. I don't know why haha, was born like this. And with ATC atleast I am guranteed a job and won't have a $60,000 student loan.

[slackie]

You actually might end up with the $60K student loan...the course costs $12K, and takes up to 18mths to start earning, during which time you are not able to supplement your income with part time work as the course is pretty full on...so I guess if you live on restaurant scraps, and camp in the park then you might be able to come out with a $12K loan!!

[Tarq57]

I don't like to point a pin at your bubble, but there is no "guarantee of a job", either. As for the course fee/size of loan you might need, pretty much as Slackie said.

If you get accepted, and pass the course, and succeed in the on the job training so as to get a licence, and then Airways employs you (fairly likely at that point), then it will probably take less time to pay it off than in some other professions.

Good luck.

[wantobe]

Thanks for the advice guys. I understand what your saying but I won't have food/rent expenses as I will be studying from home. so its pretty much 12k vs 60k .

[Tarq57]

Check yr PM's

[zkjaws]

Wantobe


You will only be studying from home if you live in Christchurch - where the training centre is located. And that will only be for the first six months or so.

You will then have to move to a provincial town to do your on the job training - that could be Invercargill or Queenstown (examples of the cheaper and more expensive places to live) and could take up to a year. And then you could be moved to yet another provincial town after you qualify.

When I read your first post I was going to reply and say you needed a lot of cash to start off with - it looks like others have already made that point.

[wantobe]

hmm, interesting. But when you go to on the job triaing, dont you get a training wage ?

[slackie]

Training wage...what's that??!! Airways don't pay you until you're qualified and have accept a job offer that (as Jaws said) could be at a different location to the one you've just trained at, and the employment will be conditional on you qualifying at the new location too!


This isn't meant to put you off, just to keep you in the FULL picture, which isn't always painted at the recruitment interviews.

[conflict alert]

You get some payment per week to live off...not sure how much it is these days, while your training. Its not much tho.

[Number Last]

For what it's worth I think it's a great job and wouldn't discourage anyone from doing it. I made the call of ATC over flying early on and have no regrets. Despite what the knockers may say it's still the best paying part time job around, that's why they're all still doing it.

[slackie]

Absolutely agree...fantastic job if you have even the smallest interest in aviation:ok:

[sthomson]

When you do your OJT, Airways currently pays you a scholarship of $185 a week. Most places take between 6-12 months, the longest is 15 months.

Are you doing the assessment centre this week? You should have been sent some information on the interview and to write down some examples of the values that they look for that you have demonstrated. You will also be involved in a group exercise, more CBT aptitude testing, and an individual simulator exercise. Good luck!

Just started my Ab-Initio course 3 weeks ago, am absolutely loving it.

[wantobe]

Nope its not assesment centre, its the exam/interview before you get invited to the assesment centre. any tips on that ?

[Mr. Pig]

wantobe - it's been a while since I went through the Airways system, but I've had a bit of recent experience with ab-initio recruitment. At an interview, your task is to convince the interviewer(s) that they should take you over someone else. You don't want to try and bullsh*t them, but they don't have any secret selection tool and they will be comparing your answers against the other candidates.

You have made a useful start by soliciting advice from the crusty old buggers on this forum! I suspect many of them would agree that sound advice for an interviewee is to be yourself. However, do heed conventional practice: be on time, and dress tidily. It is an unfortunate fact that first impressions really do matter in these situations, and can influence the judgement of interviewers if it comes down to choosing between two candidates, for example.

Other than that, listen to the questions asked and have them repeated if you miss something. Keep answers concise and to-the-point. One of the earlier posts mentioned having specific examples to demonstrate Airways values: good idea. It is valuable if you have particular experiences you can talk about which demonstrate how you a) coped with pressure b) remedied a mistake and learned from it c) have applied yourself to achieve a specific goal or milestone. These are fairly standard questions; they allow you to talk about something familiar to you and therefore to "open up" a little. the more well-rounded you appear as an individual, the more likely you will stand out as a suitable candidate.

That's a quick summary, and hopefully not too dissimilar to what you have already heard. Like slackie says, it's a great job for anyone with even the slightest interest in aviation. And by the way - costs and lack of pay aside - Airways is still a pretty good place to train.

Good Luck,
Pig

[sthomson]

I'm not sure if its the aptitude testing and interview you are talking about? I went through the selection process just under a year ago.

Basically, after you complete the OPQ questionnaire (apparently only around 33% get through it), you are invited to complete 5 aptitude tests. Examples of these tests are found on the Airways website. You have to pass all 5 of these to proceed.

There is a short 15min interview after the 5 tests involving questions such as what do Airways do, what is your level of involvement in the aviation industry (I said enthusiast), etc etc. You then get invited to the assessment centre.

Hope this helps? If not, just ask.

[WetFeet]

I would back up the comment that it isn't a guaranteed job, even if you pass all the exams.

A few years ago a bunch of trainees qualified but then found there were no vacancies. I believe this was due to the introduction of centralised approach meaning less contrlers were required.

I was given to understand Airways had to refund the course costs.

Still, at least they had licences so could tout their wares in Aus. Don'r know if a conversion course wold be required though.

[Romeo_Fox]

Do they have a sort of "ready entry" programm in New Zealand?

[conflict alert]

Romeo Fox

Don't know what you mean by 'Ready Entry' - never heard of it. Ions ago there used to be the Cadetship or Direct Entry but these days you are either not a qualified ATCO and can apply to do the course or a qualified ATCO (non - Airways) who can apply for any of the advertised vacancies using the 'External Applicants' link on the job vacancy.

Wet Feet

You need to check your keyboard, you seem to be missing a few keys!
I would be interested in more info on the BUNCH of people a FEW years ago who didn't get jobs. I know of a FEW people a BUNCH of years ago!

Long ago, when you were accepted for Air Traffic Control training you were paid from the day you started your course at Christchurch. The 'College' now known as the 'Training Centre' would generally weed out those during the course who were not doing well, and those that succeeded were then sent to a domestic tower to train for completion of their ATCO license. Even having passed at the college, there was still the chance that one would not rate at his/her unit, thus not obtain their ATCO ticket and therefore have no job, however, the college did a pretty good job of weeding out the unsuitable trainees during their time there and generally once in the field a very high proportion successfully rated. I don't recall any course where there was a 100% pass rate at the 'College'.

When Airways decided to go to a self funding scheme many many moons ago the Training Centre suddenly had 100% pass rate and the students were then farmed out to the domestic towers to complete their training. So now it became the job, unfortuneatly, for the towers to start doing the job of what the college used to do. Not nice for all involved. Anyway, I digress and this is another topic in itself. Moving on with the short version, from the first course there was one person who was struggling at the operational training side ie. passed the college, sent to a tower to complete their training for the ATCO license. I believe their training was eventually terminated and Airways suddenly found themselves being threatened with a law suit - being that as someone had paid money to get an ATCO license, then they should get one! In my opinion, this took Airways by surprise and not the sort of thing they wanted to get involved in and so there was pressure to qualify those few from the first lot of courses identified as struggling, to pass them but not offer a position (avoid a lawsuit). In other words, under the old training system they would probably have had their training terminated. Remember, we are talking about the late 90's turn of the century here where all this self funding /student loan/ ISO9000 thingy was quite new to everyone. Since then it seems the training centre are moving back to the 'old' ways where some candidates are being terminated there.

Wetfeet - I think this is what you are referring to - some examples from 10-11 years ago. I am not aware of any recent (last few years) trainees not being given a position somewhere following successful completion. Your comment that moving the NZ radar system to one building in Christchurch caused a lack of vacancies - what a load of crap.

Reference the fees being returned - I don't know about that side of things or what the policy is. I do not know what happen re the fee's to those mentioned above (first couple of courses)

[joe blogg]

Hello
I'm looking for any updated information on the Interview process. I've made it through the online personality and aptitude testing, and have been invited to an interview day in June sometime.
Apart from learning the company and HR type questions, I was looking for any information from recent recruits about what else happens on the day.

Thanks!

[deepdiver81]

Hi,

Do experienced Air traffic controllers from the UK who get a job offer in Auckland Radar Centre still need to pay for their training when they arrive in new zealand. And secondly, do Airways offer a relocation package from the uk to NZ?

Kind regards

[CEP]

Saw your post in the NZ forum. Check your PM's

[deepdiver81]

Saw your post in the NZ forum. Check your PM's
thank you for your PM. I do appreciate it. For some reason i am unable to reply through PM.

=========================

Until you have a posting history you don't have access to private messaging and adding urls.

[sparkyt]

Hi,

Do experienced Air traffic controllers from the UK who get a job offer in Auckland Radar Centre still need to pay for their training when they arrive in new zealand. And secondly, do Airways offer a relocation package from the uk to NZ?

Kind regards
I'd be interested to find that info out too.

🤔

[Irrilius]

I'd be interested to find that info out too.

🤔

Having just accepted an offer to relocate to Auckland from the UK I can tell you that there is no requirement to pay for training, you jump straight onto the Airways ATCO pay scale. You will also receive a relocation package to cover the costs of flights, furniture removal etc.

[CEP]

Having just accepted an offer to relocate to Auckland from the UK I can tell you that there is no requirement to pay for training, you jump straight onto the Airways ATCO pay scale. You will also receive a relocation package to cover the costs of flights, furniture removal etc.

Congratulations!

Caveat Emptor.......

[Braun]

Having just accepted an offer to relocate to Auckland from the UK I can tell you that there is no requirement to pay for training, you jump straight onto the Airways ATCO pay scale. You will also receive a relocation package to cover the costs of flights, furniture removal etc.
Hey there, current ATCO in Canada. What are the payscales for an IFR Approach controller?

[sandy66]

Congratulations!

Caveat Emptor.......
I Believe they are currently hiring approach controllerd

[chevvron]

Hi,

Do experienced Air traffic controllers from the UK who get a job offer in Auckland Radar Centre still need to pay for their training when they arrive in new zealand. And secondly, do Airways offer a relocation package from the uk to NZ?

Kind regards
Never got that far.
They phoned me at 3am one morning to offer me an interview after I had enquired about advertised vacancies for experienced Area Radar controllers.
They said they could only offer a 12 month contract, for which I would have to resign from NATS and lose my pension. I said I would only be interested in a minimum 3 year contract; they said they couldn't guarantee it.
I lost interest at that point.

[kontrolor]

I hear the salay is not that good at all

[ellisr]

Hi, has anyone been through the onsite interview day at the assessment centre? Looking for first hand feedback on the day.

[Brickbrit]

I see that Airways NZ are recruiting again for experienced air traffic controllers. I heard the last Intake of international controllers were released during COVID. I'm UK based and interested in applying. Anyone on here from Airways that could update me on the status of staffing levels and demand for controllers?

[elspread]

Would be interesting to know. Any idea what the salary is like these days?