Wannabe ATC controller info needed

[skysight]

Hello everyone this is my first post here so please bear with me.

About me: :)
I am 26 years old mum of 2 kids I would like to take this opportunity that our lifestyle has enabled me to embark on an career as an Air Traffic Controller. My intrest in ATC stems from me wanting a serious career and also a brighter future for my children, also my ex husband is a professional airline pilot who is encouraging me to seriously persue this path.

I am a complete novice in this field and would appreciate any starting point to embark. I have had a look at the NATS website and also ASTAC ltd.
I understand that this is a pilots network and im not sure if there are any ATC dedicated forum that I can join.

I would be looking at starting from scratch and would appreciate some info on how long the entire course may take from the beginning to getting a job.

Can someone also please shed some light on different paths available to getting the licence ie, NATS, private or military? if private, how much funding would I be looking at in getting the licence?

I have many more questions but I would appreciate some info to get started.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

You need to mug up on the CAP dealing with ATC licensing, downloadable from NATS.

ATC is a marvellous career but the training is lengthy - several years until you would be working solo at an ATC unit. As well as the basic training for the licence and ratings(s) there is then very considerable training on-station before you go solo. Unfortunately, nobody will know if you will eventually go solo until you start on-station training.

Options are military, but hardly to be recommended given your family ties, and civil. In civvy-street the best option is NATS where all training is provided and you would be paid during training and have a guaranteed job if you were successful. You can also undertake training at several private colleges but these cost two arms and six legs with no guarantee of work at the end. You could also try for an assistant job at a non-state airfield as they sometimes provide sponsorship for good ATCA staff to undertake ATCO training.

Expect many helpful suggestions on here and I wish you all the luck in the world...

[Nimmer]

I suggest you look at NATS | A global leader in air traffic control and airport performance (http://www.nats.co.uk) you will get loads of information from there. If you can get accepted onto the training scheme it is by far the best way to get into an ATC career.

Don't hesitate to PM me for any help/info. BTW my wife is also in ATC(we have 2 kids also), so what you are thinking is not unreasonable.

HD, training has been cut right back and from starting at the college to validation is no where near as lengthy as it should be, or used to be!!!!

[skysight]

HD-Nimmer, thank you very much for the information found it very uselful.

I gather there must be a very high level of competition in trying to get into NATS sponsered scheme, however I am willing to go private and fund the training myself. As there is no job guarantee at the end of privately funded training, what are the chances of getting a job and how long will the waiting be?
I would appreciate if I could get rough estimates of lengths of time.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Absolutely impossible to say. Non-State (ie non-NATS) you might be waiting for retirements. Vacancies do occur but they usually want experienced people. I'm not sure how the private schools work but I don't think you would end up with an ATC Licence as you could not do practical work. The NATS scheme isn't exactly sponsored in the usual sense - one joins NATS with a view to a career. They provide training and if one is successful a job is guaranteed. Non-State airfields do sponsor their own staff for training, maybe by NATS or maybe by one of the private establishments.

Download this from thye CAA site: CAP 788: Air Traffic Controller Licensing - A Guide to the Licensing Process. It will provide you with a great deal of information.

[Barnaby the Bear]

skysight,

Just to add my opinion/experiences.

Competition for NATS is tough, but if you are the right person for the job, there is no reason why that should be a barrier, and as HD has stated you will have a guaranteed training position at a unit afterwards.
There are 3 colleges NATS, Global ( formerly ASTAC) at Gloucester and Resource (Cwmbran). The 2 'private' colleges both have their merits and are regulated by the CAA just as NATS are.
If you take the self funding route, take the time to visit both colleges. It is an expensive route and carries some personal risk.... Remember not everyone has the aptitude for the job, and completion of a course doe's not guarantee validation and a licence.
If you plumb for ADI (Aerodrome) only initially, with a view to a foot in the door somewhere, and further funded training. This is one option, but there are alot of unvalidated Tower only trainees looking for a foot in the door at the moment. If you are specific about where you want to be based this is something to consider.
On that note NATS ATCO's are a mobile grade, so you go where they tell you.

Starting as an ATCA (ATC assistant) is a great way to get a feel for the job and at some units, if you demonstrate the aptitude, its a great way to get your training fully funded (with a bond) with a training position afterwards.

Training at the unit to validation standard will vary greatly depending on the unit, how many trainees there are and how many instructors (OJTI's) there are and of course how fast you pick it up.
The time taken to validate your first rating could be anything from 3-4 months to over a year... Alot of variables.

You maybe required to have Aerodrome, Approach Procedural and Approach Surveillance (Radar) ratings to work at some units. Self funding you could expect little change from £50k.

Good luck... It's a great career.

[The Many Tentacles]

Another thing to bear in mind is that that NATS applications are currently closed until May.

Think of starting with NATS as starting a job straight away, you're employed from the outset and you're just on an extended probationary period :} If you're successful with your training then you're guaranteed a job with NATS - it may not be exactly where you want, but if you're serious about being an ATCO then that shouldn't be a massive problem.

Assuming best case scenario, if you were to end up at Swanwick, you could expect to validate 2 1/2 years after starting at the college. That assumes you pass everything first time and don't hit any bumps on the road through live training. Plan on at least three years in reality and then anything better is a bonus.

You wouldn't be able to stay near Stansted either to train, all NATS training is done at their college in Whiteley, just to the East of Southampton. So you'd either be uprooting the family or commuting on a weekly basis to start with, which is not to be recommended. The training course is intense and having a long drive isn't going to help you. That said, people have done it and passed so it's not insurmountable. After the initial training you'd move to your unit which is wherever NATS decide to send you, anywhere from Scotland to Southampton and most places in between.

As others have said, it's a rewarding career when you get there and almost a job for life.

[warsteiner888]

Really impressed you are willing to go for a new career with two kids to worry about, shows real guts if you ask me. I have done the military, regional and now international tower jobs. All three are great. Military was by far the most satisfying but civil pays better.
I paid about £25000 to train as a civil controller four years ago, ADC and APP procedural. That price included all my accomodation costs at travel lodges and other cheap hotels. I haggled the cost of my training courses and managed to get some big reductions by committing to the basic and the two bigger ones. Should have gone for radar instead of procedural as that would have been far more attractive to employers but listened to bad advice. By thy way I was 42 when I decided to pay for civil training although I did have military experience. Your young age is no barrier. Dont let people put you off, if your willing to put the hours in then this is a very rewarding job but the training is quite rightly very difficult. I dont know HD but he seems to have his finger on the pulse even if retired so read some of his comments. Great job, huge gamble - go for it. You will also meet some of the most professional people in the world who know what "duty of care" means (not including ATC management). Best of luck

[chevvron]

If you do get accepted ny NATS, don't expect to be posted to Stansted; it's 'pot luck' you might not even be posted to an airfield.
If you're trying to split bringing up kids with a career in ATS, you might find becoming a FISO would be better for you. You would need to self study for the written exams, initially for an Air/Ground Radio Operator Certicficate, (a pre requisite for FISO practical training) then take the written for FISO, then start training, 40 hours minimum before you can operate solo of which you can only claim 4 hours per day towards the 40.

[Sir Herbert Gussett]

HD, what is a "non-State" airfield, as opposed to a "State" airfield?

[eastern wiseguy]

State versus Non State.....look at it as NATS or Non Nats.....Belfast Aldergrove (NATS) Belfast City (Non NATS)

[LEGAL TENDER]

State versus Non State.....look at it as NATS or Non Nats.....Belfast Aldergrove (NATS) Belfast City (Non NATS)

Although even certain State airfields are in a bit of a state... ;)

[Sir Herbert Gussett]

What makes Bristol (IIRC a NATS airfield) a 'State' field but Liverpool (IIRC a NON-NATS airfield) a 'non-State' field?

[eastern wiseguy]

I was obviously not clear....NON STATE...not run by the "state" CAA/NATS, NATS a joint CAA MOD company as it was then known(pre PPI it was Government or State run)... .Old terminology which has stuck.

The state units were different from the non state inasmuch as they(non state) were and are operated by such diverse organisations as Serco or local authorities or even Short Brothers and Harland(now Bombardier).

[Sir Herbert Gussett]

Ah, old terms by the old folk :ok:

BW

[RiskyFowler]

I strongly recommend you to forget that idea.

[annavflowers]

Hi everyone,

I want to get some information on how to become an air traffic controller. I have been on the NATS website and I know they have a training centre/college but I'm finding it hard to get information on these.

I'm 17 going on 18 soon, in my last year of college studying A-level Maths Physics Chemistry and Further Maths. I've been wanting to become an air traffic controller since school.

The only thing is how/what do I do? How do I apply to become one and what am I meant to do?!

Plus I live all the way in Lancashire and as you may know, Bournemouth is pretty far from here...so will I get accommadation?

Elp!

[whitelighter]

Visit Careers | NATS (http://www.atcocareers.co.uk) - it's all there and very self explanatory.

If you get a place at the college you get a salary (of sorts) but its up to you to sort out accommodation etc. it may be far away, but should you be successful then you could get posted anywhere from Aberdeen, through Belfast and down to Gibralter

[Crazy Voyager]

I've been told you can't be posted to LGXB straight out of college, but maybe my sources were wrong?

[whitelighter]

Yeah, a they also say they won't post people to Belfast unless they want to go!

At the moment staffing at gib is ok, but you wait and see what happens if suddenly business need dictates it. Fact is, Nats staff it and guidelines are very easily changed

[Crazy Voyager]

True I suppose, oh well. As always one can just wait and see, thanks :-)

[Glamdring]

Yeah, a they also say they won't post people to Belfast unless they want to go!

Yes they have previously stated this on their website. I have subsequently known of trainees that have been sent, kicking and screaming, against their will to exactly that unit. :ok:

[whitelighter]

That was precisely my point

[alfaman]

As it stands & as far as I know, the mobile contract provision can only be applied within the UK, so a Trainee can't be posted straight to LXGB; however, they can be asked if they wish to go...