NATS interview process

[Dont_get_pushy]

Anybody going June 23Rd?

[Megamc]

Hi Palks,
Chech your mail!

[StewartB]

Hi I've recently passed stage 3 and have been given a start date at the college of July 24th. Me and a fellow trainee are looking to rent a place in the area, are there any other trainee ATCOs who would be interested in joining us?

Also to anyone who has already been through the college, any suggestions on the best area to live?

Cheers, Stewart

[mccannatc]

Originally Posted by StewartB

Hi I've recently passed stage 3 and have been given a start date at the college of July 24th. Me and a fellow trainee are looking to rent a place in the area, are there any other trainee ATCOs who would be interested in joining us?

Also to anyone who has already been through the college, any suggestions on the best area to live?

Cheers, Stewart

Hey Stewart, I am also on the 24th of July course! I have already got accommodation, but it would be good to connect through Facebook! I have set up a closed group, if you search for "NATS 248 Basic" on Facebook. or use the following link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/172560703267268/edit/

[Dank84]

Assesment

Hi All

Got my 1st assessment day tomorrow in Whiteley and am really struggling with learning the aircraft's. I have put in some serious time but the aircraft's are stumping me.
Are the ATC questions multiple choice and what percentage are about air
craft please.

Nervous but excited....

Cheers

[mckeown]

Originally Posted by Dank84

Hi All

Got my 1st assessment day tomorrow in Whiteley and am really struggling with learning the aircraft's. I have put in some serious time but the aircraft's are stumping me.
Are the ATC questions multiple choice and what percentage are about air
craft please.

Nervous but excited....

Cheers

How did you get on?

[Kirsteneg]

Originally Posted by caity

Hi everyone - just wanted to say thanks for the helpful info posted so far, bits and pieces have helped me pass everything up to and including the Stage 2 assessment so far.

I have my Stage 3 in a few weeks in May, and was wondering if anyone could give me any advice as to any extra things I could learn in advance of the day?

I feel I can prepare for the computer test, competency interview (as much as I can at least!), and the personality profiling interview, but wondered if there was any additional reading I could do to boost my chances? One of the NATS recruitment staff I met at Stage 2 suggested learning the details of several airports across the UK, and perhaps some ILS plates, as well as info about NATS itself.

Are there any people who have undertaken Stage 3 that could tell me if this sort of stuff would be relevant, and anything else I could add to the list?

Thanks a lot in advance!

Caity, take it you've been by now. How did it go?

[caity]

Originally Posted by Kirsteneg

Caity, take it you've been by now. How did it go?

I passed! Got the news last Friday, super excited. I haven't had the terms & conditions through yet so not 100% sure of the start date, but the woman I spoke to on the phone was saying there's still spaces on the end of July course (which I'm assuming starts on the 24th from other posts), so I might be with those guys.

For anyone wanting advice about stage 3 there's not much to say apart from be yourself (cliché I know), revise as much as you can from the booklet they give you, and maybe do a little extra research about NATS and air traffic control. I think I went a bit OTT learning all about ILS plates and things but it can't hurt to show you're keen! In terms of the computer test I think it's best to just go in there and give it your best shot without trying to prepare for it like the others, I think they purposefully don't publish much information about it to see how you get on, and I'm not going to divulge here. Hope that helps anyone with an assessment coming up!

If any of the peeps on the end of July course want to get in contact give me a shout - as soon as I know the start date for certain I'm going to start looking for accommodation and I'd really like to live with others doing the same thing!

Sorry for the essay, good luck to anyone still progressing through the assessments and hope it's good news, I know it's made my year!

[JakeH]

Hi All

Attending Stage 3 in July; wondering if anyone can clarify if the Stage 3 computer based test(s) is similar in nature to the tests in Stage 2, or something completely different?

Also, regarding the technical competency interview, are the questions they ask specific to details in the handbook (e.g. a specific aircraft's speed etc), or more general questions about ATC practices and regulations in airspace etc.

Thanks!

[Kirsteneg]

Originally Posted by caity

I passed! Got the news last Friday, super excited. I haven't had the terms & conditions through yet so not 100% sure of the start date, but the woman I spoke to on the phone was saying there's still spaces on the end of July course (which I'm assuming starts on the 24th from other posts), so I might be with those guys.

For anyone wanting advice about stage 3 there's not much to say apart from be yourself (cliché I know), revise as much as you can from the booklet they give you, and maybe do a little extra research about NATS and air traffic control. I think I went a bit OTT learning all about ILS plates and things but it can't hurt to show you're keen! In terms of the computer test I think it's best to just go in there and give it your best shot without trying to prepare for it like the others, I think they purposefully don't publish much information about it to see how you get on, and I'm not going to divulge here. Hope that helps anyone with an assessment coming up!

If any of the peeps on the end of July course want to get in contact give me a shout - as soon as I know the start date for certain I'm going to start looking for accommodation and I'd really like to live with others doing the same thing!

Sorry for the essay, good luck to anyone still progressing through the assessments and hope it's good news, I know it's made my year!

Congrats! Bet you're well chuffed. Hopefully you'll get on the July course. I have my stage 3 in less than 2 weeks, and I think I'm probably going a bit OTT on learning technical stuff, so your advice has helped, thanks!

[caity]

Originally Posted by Kirsteneg

Congrats! Bet you're well chuffed. Hopefully you'll get on the July course. I have my stage 3 in less than 2 weeks, and I think I'm probably going a bit OTT on learning technical stuff, so your advice has helped, thanks!

Thanks, I am indeed! Hope it goes well for you, let me know how you get on!

[hbas1]

So it's been recommended to have a go at the games on the NATS website. Anyone have any idea as to what is regarded as a good score?

[caity]

Originally Posted by lakupipu

Congratulations! Could you do me a favour and tell me both the day of your Stage 3 and when you got the news that you passed? Thank you.

My stage 3 was Monday 15th May, and I found out that Friday on the 19th. But they do say in that it could be up to 30 days or something before you hear back, so if you had an assessment on a Monday and didn't hear by the end of the week I wouldn't worry. I would imagine you almost always hear back within a week or two, it probably depends how busy they've been and how many were at an assessment.

If you were still interested about next steps, I'm in the middle of sending off all of these medical / security forms and waiting for further instructions, like getting a date booked for the medical. It can take a while for it to all get processed, I think they say to give yourself at least a couple of months in between finding out you've passed stage 3 and starting the next training course to make sure your medical and security clearance all goes through. All of the information about the requirements for passing a Class 3 medical is available on the CAA website so you can get an idea if you'll have any potential issues, and as long as you don't have a large gap on your CV the security should be straightforward.

Hope some of that helps, and good luck with Stage 3!

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Originally Posted by hbas1

So it's been recommended to have a go at the games on the NATS website. Anyone have any idea as to what is regarded as a good score?

While the NATS games give an idea of having to deal with multiple 'aircraft' and avoiding tunnel vision, I wouldn't put too much effort into practising them. The games require quick reactions, but that's it. DART requires this too, but what makes it harder is that you have to think ahead and be accurate with your directions as well. The games don't test this. That's my thoughts at least.

[hbas1]

Originally Posted by Flamin_Squirrel

While the NATS games give an idea of having to deal with multiple 'aircraft' and avoiding tunnel vision, I wouldn't put too much effort into practising them. The games require quick reactions, but that's it. DART requires this too, but what makes it harder is that you have to think ahead and be accurate with your directions as well. The games don't test this. That's my thoughts at least.

Thanks Flamin Squirrel. Decent tips. Can you possibly shine some light on another question. Rumour has it there's a few distance/speed/time questions in the multiple choice paper. Is this true? The email NATS sent only mention to learn the info in the booklet.
Thanks,

hbas1

[mccannatc]

Originally Posted by lakupipu

Congratulations! Could you do me a favour and tell me both the day of your Stage 3 and when you got the news that you passed? Thank you.

I did mine on the 31st of Jan and found out on the 2nd of Feb.

Also a quick reminder, anyone starting on the Basic 248 course in July, come and join our Facebook group to help work out accommodation and ask questions etc!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/172560703267268/

[caity]

Originally Posted by lakupipu

Thank you that's pretty useful! My problem is that I will be coming all the way from Spain so the time I can spend here limited - my Stage 3 would be on a Tuesday so I had in mind staying until next Tuesday?

About the medical and all of the forms, is there anything that you need to fill in person or can you do it online / via mail? Also do you know when will you begin the course? Thanks!

Hi lakupipu, sorry for the delayed response! When you say you are staying for a week after the stage 3, are you hoping to get all the medical stuff out of the way by then? Because there's no way it happens that quick! I'm still waiting for a date for my medical, hopefully sooner rather than later. In terms of all of the forms, you fill them all in and either send them off online or via post, but you will need to get a medical in person. If NATS give you permission, you can get it done by another AME that isn't the one NATS pay for in London. I have no idea if you can get it done by a medical examiner in Spain, perhaps worth finding out if there is one certified by the CAA that you could go to to save you travelling back to the UK just for a medical?

[Axabeg]

Originally Posted by Ilikeplanesandstuff

Hi folks,

Long time lurker, first time poster. Recently passed stage 2 so thought I'd offer a couple of tips from my experience.

I'd say the most important thing to bear in mind with the aptitude tests is that they are designed to break everyone, you may feel like you are failing even if you are doing well. I thought I had thoroughly screwed up in parts of FEAST yet still passed. Do not panic if you feel its starting to look dire.

Without giving away any unfair advantage, the motivation paper is pretty simple if you put some time into studying the booklet. I probably spent about 10 hours in total learning it and I felt confident answering all but one question on the test.

Hi, I will have my assessment day in 8 days, I have read your post and I would have a question about the motivation paper.
I am a bit worried about the many details of the aircraft's which was given to us, I feel like I know most of it, but having a bit of hard time about the Airlines. Would you mind to tell me a bit more accurately what sort of question shall we expect? I would really appreciate it, thanks in advance!

[WhiskeyFox]

Has anyone else had a message about change of date and venue for training?

[Flamin_Squirrel]

Originally Posted by hbas1

Thanks Flamin Squirrel. Decent tips. Can you possibly shine some light on another question. Rumour has it there's a few distance/speed/time questions in the multiple choice paper. Is this true? The email NATS sent only mention to learn the info in the booklet.
Thanks,

hbas1

There were when I did it. I can't remember if it was more than one, but it wasn't lots.