NATS interview process
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I've just been moved on to the course at Global starting in March! Is there anyone else on here who is on that course - are there any whatsapp groups or facebook groups? As I've only just been moved over I'm starting to get worried about trying to find a house within a month! Anyone else look to share a house with someone?
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I would strongly recommend getting as close as you can to CTC, it makes life a lot easier not getting stuck in traffic everyday both ways. If you can walk in to college then the stress of travel is eliminated.
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Good afternoon,
I've just passed Stage 1 and been invited down for Stage 2. I stay in Scotland and have a young family. All very much 'ifs and buts' but can someone please advise how things would pan out should I eventually be successful and gain a place on the course?
Is it very intense at college five days a week or would there be opportunities to return home at weekends?
I know this is very unlikely but do circumstances come into the equation at all when being allocated tower/approach/area and your destination?
Thanks in advance
I've just passed Stage 1 and been invited down for Stage 2. I stay in Scotland and have a young family. All very much 'ifs and buts' but can someone please advise how things would pan out should I eventually be successful and gain a place on the course?
Is it very intense at college five days a week or would there be opportunities to return home at weekends?
I know this is very unlikely but do circumstances come into the equation at all when being allocated tower/approach/area and your destination?
Thanks in advance
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NATSjock,
It was a long time ago, but each weekday night required 3-4 hours of post-college evening homework. Saturday was my 'day off', but the whole of Sunday was spent 'on the books'.
If you can share digs with fellow students, it's a great help. You can discuss stuff/scenarios etc.
It was a long time ago, but each weekday night required 3-4 hours of post-college evening homework. Saturday was my 'day off', but the whole of Sunday was spent 'on the books'.
If you can share digs with fellow students, it's a great help. You can discuss stuff/scenarios etc.
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The course is very intense and generally if you are from Scotland you will find it time consuming and expensive to get home. You really do have to put in a lot of extra hours of study outside the college times.
This next bit is a copy and paste from Flying184 from the 27th of January. I think the info is more or less correct.
“The additional training venues are to increase training capacity given the level of demand across the UK and the reduction in training facilities at CTC that happened a few years ago. The Union are also keen for training to be brought back totally in house.
- Do you get to submit a preference for which training location you would like or is it completely random?
If successful, you are a student and you get sent where there is a training space. You do not get a choice over Aerodrome/Approach/Area. That said, I believe you can opt out of the Spain option given that it is overseas.
- Is the full 6-9 months of college based training delivered at Global/Jerez, or just the 2 month basic course?
Global: 3 months Baisc, 3 Months ADI and/or 3.5 months APS as I understand it. This does not take into account breaks between courses. Spain: European basic course (4 months) and then back to the UK to do ratings at CTC as I understand it although stand to be corrected! There were rumours on here they were starting to deliver Area training at Jerez too but I am not sure.
- Do students at these locations all go down the aerodrome/approach route or do they also deliver area training?
Global do not deliver UK Area ratings and so if you went to Global you would do ADI/APS ratings. This does not mean you would go to an airport though.... there are plenty of APS only units such as Aberdeen Offshore, Aberporth Ranges, and of course a very big APS group at Swanwick providing approach radar for the main London airports. I believe there is currently a group at Global who have done Basic and APS and are destined for Swanwick approaches. I often read stories on here of people thinking "oh it'll never happen to me" to then find out they are off to Bonnie Scotland to do Aberdeen Offshore (which is a very interesting operation let it be said!)
Hope this helps. I cannot stress this enough..... you really need to understand and accept that if successful NATS will place you where THEY need you. This includes both training space and posting should you complete the course. E.g. Aberdeen is a very realistic posting, as is Belfast, Glasgow, Aberporth Ranges, Swanwick etc..... regardless of whether you have family in the south of the UK, children at school etc. If this is something you are not happy with, then I would really suggest another route into ATC!”
This next bit is a copy and paste from Flying184 from the 27th of January. I think the info is more or less correct.
“The additional training venues are to increase training capacity given the level of demand across the UK and the reduction in training facilities at CTC that happened a few years ago. The Union are also keen for training to be brought back totally in house.
- Do you get to submit a preference for which training location you would like or is it completely random?
If successful, you are a student and you get sent where there is a training space. You do not get a choice over Aerodrome/Approach/Area. That said, I believe you can opt out of the Spain option given that it is overseas.
- Is the full 6-9 months of college based training delivered at Global/Jerez, or just the 2 month basic course?
Global: 3 months Baisc, 3 Months ADI and/or 3.5 months APS as I understand it. This does not take into account breaks between courses. Spain: European basic course (4 months) and then back to the UK to do ratings at CTC as I understand it although stand to be corrected! There were rumours on here they were starting to deliver Area training at Jerez too but I am not sure.
- Do students at these locations all go down the aerodrome/approach route or do they also deliver area training?
Global do not deliver UK Area ratings and so if you went to Global you would do ADI/APS ratings. This does not mean you would go to an airport though.... there are plenty of APS only units such as Aberdeen Offshore, Aberporth Ranges, and of course a very big APS group at Swanwick providing approach radar for the main London airports. I believe there is currently a group at Global who have done Basic and APS and are destined for Swanwick approaches. I often read stories on here of people thinking "oh it'll never happen to me" to then find out they are off to Bonnie Scotland to do Aberdeen Offshore (which is a very interesting operation let it be said!)
Hope this helps. I cannot stress this enough..... you really need to understand and accept that if successful NATS will place you where THEY need you. This includes both training space and posting should you complete the course. E.g. Aberdeen is a very realistic posting, as is Belfast, Glasgow, Aberporth Ranges, Swanwick etc..... regardless of whether you have family in the south of the UK, children at school etc. If this is something you are not happy with, then I would really suggest another route into ATC!”
Last edited by AyrTC; 5th Feb 2019 at 20:47.
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Just as a matter of interest, when you sign a contract with NATS is it made clear that you may be posted to a country (Scotland) that belongs to the UK of GB and NI where you will pay more tax than a colleague who is posted to a unit of the same banding elsewhere ?
To those that are contemplating Scotland, also be advised that thanks to the SNP/Greens budget deal, you may in future be charged for the privilege of parking your car in your unit's secure car park.
I am not knocking Scotland, I spent all my ATCO career there and still have a house in Troon, just trying to make sure you guys and gals are aware of the idiosyncrasies of the Scottish Government.
To those that are contemplating Scotland, also be advised that thanks to the SNP/Greens budget deal, you may in future be charged for the privilege of parking your car in your unit's secure car park.
I am not knocking Scotland, I spent all my ATCO career there and still have a house in Troon, just trying to make sure you guys and gals are aware of the idiosyncrasies of the Scottish Government.
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Well have come back from doing Stage 2 this week on which I was the only one of 11 to make it to the afternoon DART session and was delighted to be told by the instructor as soon as I had finished that I had passed DART. I still don't think I have fully processed it tbh and now fully appreciate why people say you cannot really prepare for Stage 2 as it really is a barrage test and it is difficult to find a breath never mind completely analyse all the information relating to the tasks, including familiarity of their layouts.
I found it a lot tougher than I expected and was surprised to find I got to DART session as I thought there were one or two stumbling blocks. I think the main thing though, as I admit to actually freezing on parts of it, is to forget about it quickly and just keep going. I would suggest the tests themselves are actually testing for this layered ability for candidates to not only work quickly and accurately but to do so under immense pressure, time constraints, with overload of information over a prolonged period of time, all to test how you fare when it can become too much which the numbers section did for me in places but in spite of that to keep working as best and accurately as you can during these stresses. I ran out of time in one test can't remember which but was one of the mapping ones and I have to say I found the cubes very easy maybe with the exception of 3-4 examples, finisheing that with 5-6mins to spare.
Anyway I have already booked on for my Stage 3 at Prestwick on March 6th so will be undertaking more prep for that now!
I found it a lot tougher than I expected and was surprised to find I got to DART session as I thought there were one or two stumbling blocks. I think the main thing though, as I admit to actually freezing on parts of it, is to forget about it quickly and just keep going. I would suggest the tests themselves are actually testing for this layered ability for candidates to not only work quickly and accurately but to do so under immense pressure, time constraints, with overload of information over a prolonged period of time, all to test how you fare when it can become too much which the numbers section did for me in places but in spite of that to keep working as best and accurately as you can during these stresses. I ran out of time in one test can't remember which but was one of the mapping ones and I have to say I found the cubes very easy maybe with the exception of 3-4 examples, finisheing that with 5-6mins to spare.
Anyway I have already booked on for my Stage 3 at Prestwick on March 6th so will be undertaking more prep for that now!
Last edited by StuBob; 10th Mar 2019 at 11:38.
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Well have come back from doing Stage 2 this week on which I was the only one of 11 to make it to the afternoon DART session and was delighted to be told by the instructor as soon as I had finished that I had passed DART. I still don't think I have fully processed it tbh and now fully appreciate why people say you cannot really prepare for Stage 2 as it really is a barrage test and it is difficult to find a breath never mind completely analyse all the information relating to the tasks, including familiarity of their layouts.
I found it a lot tougher than I expected and was surprised to find I got to DART session as I thought there were one or two stumbling blocks, mostly the numbers sorting which is ridiculous! I think the main thing though, as I admit to actually freezing on parts of the numbers sorting, with informaiton overload when special rules were applying, is to forget about it quickly and just keep, going, clicking as each example changes is a matter of seconds. I would suggest the tests themselves are actually testing for this layered ability for candidates to not only work quickly and accurately but to do so under immense pressure, time constraints, with overload of information over a prolonged period of time, all to test how you fare when it can become too much which the numbers section did for me in places but in spite of that to keep working as best and accurately as you can during these stresses. I ran out of time in one test can't remember which but was one of the mapping ones and I have to say I found the cubes very easy maybe with the exception of 3-4 examples, finisheing that with 5-6mins to spare.
Anyway I have already booked on for my Stage 3 at Prestwick on March 6th so will be undertaking more prep for that now!
I found it a lot tougher than I expected and was surprised to find I got to DART session as I thought there were one or two stumbling blocks, mostly the numbers sorting which is ridiculous! I think the main thing though, as I admit to actually freezing on parts of the numbers sorting, with informaiton overload when special rules were applying, is to forget about it quickly and just keep, going, clicking as each example changes is a matter of seconds. I would suggest the tests themselves are actually testing for this layered ability for candidates to not only work quickly and accurately but to do so under immense pressure, time constraints, with overload of information over a prolonged period of time, all to test how you fare when it can become too much which the numbers section did for me in places but in spite of that to keep working as best and accurately as you can during these stresses. I ran out of time in one test can't remember which but was one of the mapping ones and I have to say I found the cubes very easy maybe with the exception of 3-4 examples, finisheing that with 5-6mins to spare.
Anyway I have already booked on for my Stage 3 at Prestwick on March 6th so will be undertaking more prep for that now!
But I had passed and I have my Stage 3 next week 😁
Good luck to you StuBob!
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Just as a matter of interest, when you sign a contract with NATS is it made clear that you may be posted to a country (Scotland) that belongs to the UK of GB and NI where you will pay more tax than a colleague who is posted to a unit of the same banding elsewhere ?
.
.
Swings and roundabouts!
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You should definitely start making plans, some people start the course and are still waiting on medical certificates. You will have to take the leap eventually. Accommodation is tight in Whiteley and some people who left it too late found it very difficult to find anywhere.
I would strongly recommend getting as close as you can to CTC, it makes life a lot easier not getting stuck in traffic everyday both ways. If you can walk in to college then the stress of travel is eliminated.
I would strongly recommend getting as close as you can to CTC, it makes life a lot easier not getting stuck in traffic everyday both ways. If you can walk in to college then the stress of travel is eliminated.
My only concern is that I could, for certain reasons, have difficulties with obtaining the medical certificate. That's why I'm not very keen on signing any tenancy agreements until I speak to the doctor.
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I've already started doing some research regarding accommodation. And yeah, I'd definitely like to be as close as possible to CTC. But it looks like that might be pretty difficult and expensive.
My only concern is that I could, for certain reasons, have difficulties with obtaining the medical certificate. That's why I'm not very keen on signing any tenancy agreements until I speak to the doctor.
My only concern is that I could, for certain reasons, have difficulties with obtaining the medical certificate. That's why I'm not very keen on signing any tenancy agreements until I speak to the doctor.
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Cost of living has and will always be an issue, hence the old "London Weighting" in the distant past.
Up until recently tax has not been an issue.
The Armed Forces are looking into making sure everyone gets the same take home pay wherever they work.
Prospect, the union that looks after ATCOs, rejected a clause at conference regarding this issue, you should ask them why.
Best of luck to you all wherever you end up.
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Feel like I have been reading these pages for hours!!
Online tests passed in the last few days and invited for Stage 2 early March.
Happy with learning all the booklet information - so difficult to try and tell yourself you can't prep for FEAST and DART! Goes against all my instincts to try and prep as much as you can ha!
Some great info here!
Online tests passed in the last few days and invited for Stage 2 early March.
Happy with learning all the booklet information - so difficult to try and tell yourself you can't prep for FEAST and DART! Goes against all my instincts to try and prep as much as you can ha!
Some great info here!
Last edited by ajborthwick; 7th Feb 2019 at 17:42.
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What Band 1 unit is in a low cost area ?
Cost of living has and will always be an issue, hence the old "London Weighting" in the distant past.
Up until recently tax has not been an issue.
The Armed Forces are looking into making sure everyone gets the same take home pay wherever they work.
Prospect, the union that looks after ATCOs, rejected a clause at conference regarding this issue, you should ask them why.
Best of luck to you all wherever you end up.
Cost of living has and will always be an issue, hence the old "London Weighting" in the distant past.
Up until recently tax has not been an issue.
The Armed Forces are looking into making sure everyone gets the same take home pay wherever they work.
Prospect, the union that looks after ATCOs, rejected a clause at conference regarding this issue, you should ask them why.
Best of luck to you all wherever you end up.
Band 2 has an even better example..... Glasgow v Bristol! Certainly a lot cheaper to live in Glasgow compared to Bristol.
Also worth adding that trainees are not paid shift allowances until the license is validated (completion of on the job training).
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If it helps, when I had my medical the facilitator mentioned that you're pre-sorted into a red/amber/green category based on the paperwork you submit beforehand and how likely you are to pass. You could try emailing them to ask which category you've been sorted into, I don't know whether they'd tell you but it's worth a go I suppose. It might give you an indication of how attainable your certificate could be. Equally it could be a bit of a double edged sword as the category they sort you into doesn't necessarily reflect what the outcome of the medical could be.
Knowing the category won't really help though as we can't prepare for it. And like you said, the category we're sorted into doesn't have to reflect the outcome of the medical. I guess I'll just have to wait and be positive about it.
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Thanks
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So for those who have had their stage 3 assessment recently how many days prior it did you receive an email with an allocated time slot? I have my stage 3 on Wednesday at Hampshire but I have had no emails from them 🤔
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Hey guys, anyone on here from Stage 2 yesterday(11/02)? Having made it through to the DART tests again, that is where my journey ends, again! Perhaps i'm just not cut out to be ATC as twice now I have failed on the DART!
Good news though, the process is changing from April with stages 1 and 2 being online before proceeding to stage 3 interview and anyone who has recently failed can re-apply from April, no need to wait a year!
Good news though, the process is changing from April with stages 1 and 2 being online before proceeding to stage 3 interview and anyone who has recently failed can re-apply from April, no need to wait a year!
