Just got another email from NATS, new assessment centre dates releasing 9am on the 7th of June!

I know some people have heard and have been allocated courses. Best of luck for those waiting.

Managed to book the stage 3 assessment at 9am this morning.. 22/06/2023 :)

that went well…..

Clicked the link at 9am as stated. Website clearly overloaded as extremely slow to load. Dates available in June + July. Clicked on one to book - page refreshes and says all slots taken. This was at 9.03am

Contacted NATS and they confirm all slots full @ new slots will be released at some point in the future, but then don’t know when.

seems like it’s a case of faster finger first and a bit of luck! This could potentially happen each time they release new slots?

hi
i tried from 9am and untill 9:30 am it still showed slots are currently unavialable.
Is there any trick that you did to get it done?Please help.

Man Utd 1999. Maybe relax a little. Probably not best to criticise your potential future employer before you’ve got the job. Trust me you will have 30+ years to do that!

I think most people would accept that they have finite capacity and you might need to wait a bit, but what seems suboptimal is the lottery style allocation of Stage 3 and inviting more people for it who applied more recently, who might get lucky ahead of people who were invited ages ago. It shouldn't come down to luck of when you click a link. This isn't ticketmaster. I would have preferred to be allocated a date without any choice over this process. Once you get a Stage 3 invite, you'd think there would be capacity for you.

Personally I've stopped waiting for anything now and accepted Stage 3 won't happen. They clearly have an excess of people which is great for them

I've refreshed the page at 9am on the dot, took a good few seconds to load..
It did show up a date for next week and one at the end of the month.
Both dates wouldn't suit me so I refreshed the page.
After it reloaded, it came up with 2 different dates and I picked one of them.
Hope this helps

When did you take the stage 3 assessment?
I am taking the stage 3 assessment this month and was hoping to get placed on the course this year however I have been adviced that it could possibly be 2024.

anyone know how long after you complete stage 3 you have to wait before you get an update if you’ve been accepted/rejected? We were told minimum 2 weeks and it’s been almost a month.

Just clicked on the link in the email to see if news slots have been released. That’s what it says:

There are no time slots available for this event. Please contact us so that we can consider alternative options.

Is that a general message or we are supposed to contact NATS if we are still waiting for getting a slot for stage 3?

Hi everyone,

I have recently started looking into everything surrounding this line of work and have a couple of queries if anyone has the answers!

I know the trainee salary has been discussed on previous pages but just looking to see if anyone has any updated information.

Basically, the base trainee salary would be less than half of my current wage and I live around eight hours drive from the training college so would obviously need to relocate during that process - I would need to continue to pay for my mortgage/bills etc at home too though.

I was just looking to see if anyone knew how long you are on the initial salary plus the £7000 (ish) accommodation expenses per year. Does this level of salary continue until you are fully qualified? So around two - three years? And do you continue to get the accommodation payment after leaving the training centre?

Once you are fully qualified what do increments generally tend to look like - I know this will depend on where you work etc but just looking for a rough guide.

It is a line of work I would love to become involved in, but obviously a lot to weigh up. I think I could just about get by nine months of the basic salary and living away - even if I was lucky enough to be placed at a unit near my home in the west of Scotland I think I could just about continue at that level of earnings but anything outwith that and I think it would be impossible sadly.

Huge IF questions as I appreciate how hard it is to get selected anyway, but better to look at all the practicalities now!

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)

Hi, any one who has recently attended stage 3 is the ATC knowledge test multiple choice?

Recruitment ‘paused’ after 11th July until early next year, according to NATS’ FB post. Current applications will be processed in the meantime.

You're on the training salary until you arrive at a unit. Then, if I remember correctly and I'm prepared to be wrong on this, you lose the living allowance, but you gain the anti-social hours payment which is very similar to the living allowance. Your salary does go up by a few thousand too. However, it's unlikely that your college journey would be smooth. You may well fail a stage or end up holding whilst the course ahead of you finishes their course and then your 9 months at the college is suddenly 12 or longer.

Regarding location, you can be sent wherever the company needs you. You can put in preferences, but ultimately if they want you as a tower controller at Southampton that's where you're going regardless of where the rest of your family is. The majority of people will either end up at Swanwick or Prestwick though as that's where they have the most controllers and obviously need the most too. Again, there's little choice - it'll be where the business needs you.

In terms of annual increments, it depends on where you are. They all start around the £40k mark and go up from there. Working at the busier units will leave you on well over £100k by the time you reach the top of the pay scale

Thanks for taking the time to reply - much appreciated!

Group discussion?
 

Hi all.

Thanks for all the above info so far.

I was wondering if someone who has attended recently may be able to shed some more light on the day?

Considering it's being run via teams I was wondering how the group discussion went? I think we can all agree the natural nuisances of conversation are difficult to replicate through a video call - so I'd be interested to know how this went for those who have taken part?

Any surprising questions in the competency based interview? Or is it very much the standard "tell me a time you have demonstrated X Y or Z"

Also, Is the Nats quiz from the study material provided multiple choice?

Cheers and best of luck to all

Hi,

I'm just starting my research into this career and have struggled to find the answer to two key questions. I've tried to search the NATS website as well as this form and Reddit, but while these question has been asked, the answers are either out of date or vague.

My first question is about the salary. A normally taboo subject but in this new modern world, a very important problem to discuss. In my research, I've found that NATS has different salary ranges for being stationed at different airports. They seemed to call these bands. Is this still how it operates? If so, can you share updated ranges and what airports belong to which band? If you are at an airport that ranges from 40k-80k, how long does it take to achieve 80k? Is this usually a promotion to a different role or is this just pay for experience? If I was working at Cardiff as an Aerodrome Controller for 4 years, how much should I be making? The answers I've usually seen to salary questions are, the salary "good"/"great" but these mean something different to everyone. So a really detail answer would be appreciated. I know some people don't like to talk openly about their salary so I completely understand if you don't want to do this openly. I'm new to this form but I assume it has private message features.

My second question is about the type of controller you wish to become. My research seems to suggest you are just assigned with your preference not even taken into consideration. Is this true? If, for instance, you wanted to become an Aerodrome Controller but you were assigned to be an Area Controller, and someone else wished to be an Area Controller but they were assigned to be an Aerodrome Controller, doesn't that seem silly? Some explanation on this would be great. As at the moment, it seems there is a possibility for some to be very unhappy in their role. Also, if you wanted to switch the type of controller you are, could you? Or would this require retraining which NATS are unlikely to offer?

A further question I had while typing this is, how easy is it to switch between airports? Let's say you are assigned to Cardiff, is it possible to move to Manchester? If so, how is the process?

Thanks to anyone who answers. If you have already seen these answered, please post a link to the information. I know some might say to apply first, pass the assessments, then worry about these questions. But, the training is a large commitment. I would rather know now that I 100% want to do it than train for 2 years and realize I get paid less for more work; though, probably more interesting.

You might be hard pressed to find many people willing to openly share the pay scales. Essentially you’d look at about 10 years from bottom to top. This is based on experience however there are options for promotions which could increase salary.

Salary isn’t the end of the story though, there’s shift pay, ojti pay and overtime too. Even in a unit on the lowest scale (NERL & NSL only) you could probably hit the 6 figure mark without any promotions.

Regarding type of controller, you will ultimately end up where the business want you doing what they choose. Preferences may be taken into account and with the huge amount of courses being run in the next few years you might be luckier in that sense compared to previous years as there’s more space to put people.

That being said though while I’ve met many controllers who ended up somewhere they didn’t plan doing a type of controlling they wouldn’t have initially picked, I’ve yet to meet someone who wishes they didn’t pursue the job based on this.

Retraining paid for by NATS is very unlikely. Transferring isn’t too difficult however it can take some time if the unit you want to move to is over staffed or in demand already.

Has anyone heard back yet from the round of assessments on the 25th of July?

Cheers!

Transferring IS difficult. People that get a move are the exception not the rule. Don't plan on joining Nats with a view on a transfer because it can take a very long time or not happen at all.

Anyone been able to book a stage 3 assessment this week? Says nothing available every time I try.

Assessment Centre Dates - 8 August 2023
 

Hi all

Just wondering If anyone, like myself, got an email last week on the 2nd August that more dates for the assessment centre will be released today, Tuesday 8th August and on Thursday 10th August?

I have been refreshing and visiting the link all day but have yet to see any option to select a date appear.

Is anyone having a similar issue or has anyone been successful in selecting a date?

I'm just a bit lost as to what's going on at the moment!

Nats Assessment Centre Dates
 

I found out yesterday evening, from a friend who was also trying to get a date, that he sat waiting from 9am until dates appeared at about 9:20.

I think thats the way to go on Thursday morning.

Seems crazy that booking a Stage 3 assessment still relies on a Ticketmaster style refresh race..... I'm sure everyone will get their chance eventually, but it's all a bit chaotic. Why not just invite people to book in the order which they applied? :ugh:

They have been running Stage 3 assessments for 3+ months now, so I imagine they are filling up courses for 2024 already. What dates have people been offered recently?

I applied as soon as the applications opened (within the first 5 minutes of receiving the email that they had re-opened applications). I can't believe its taken literally months to book onto Stage 3.

I tried on Tuesday, but no luck. I woke up today and decided to refresh my page every 30 seconds since 9:00. Tedious, but at this point it's better than having to wait literal months to book on.

I didn't even bother reading the date when I booked on/see if there were any other dates available, too afraid that it might get snapped up by the time I confirm haha. Although I think there may have only been 1 option (Start of october), and I have a sneaky feeling that they won't be releasing any more assessment days any time soon.

I kept trying throughout the day on the 8th without any luck. Today I've been trying once again but with increased frequency, hitting the refresh button over and over more times than I can count. At about 10:20, to great surprise, it loaded a single date in early October. In the minute it took me to check calendars that I could make that day, when I clicked to confirm I got the no available dates message again. I was gutted.

But around 2 hours later I hit the lottery again and was offered a single date in September, which I confirmed immediately without even checking my schedule - I'll make it work!

Best of luck to any others trying, it seems to take a lot.

Tried all day both days; got nothing...

I guess the good news is that the number of people trying to book should be reducing each time they release new dates. so it should get easier.

That said, hopefully NATS re-think this entire booking process for when they re-open applications, because it's clearly not working efficiently and causing lots of unnecessary stress.

Stage 3
 

Hi, has anyone who sat stage 3 throughout the month of July heard back yet?

Personal circumstances
 

Good Morning all,

First time post as I’m struggling to find an answer anywhere and I’m hoping someone might be able to help.

I was due to attend assessments in the last round of applications but I withdrew my application due to personal circumstances (not wishing to be too emotive but my three year old son was undergoing leukaemia treatment).

Now I know that withdrawing makes one ineligible to reapply for a period of time but I was wondering if NATS might consider my circumstances. I didn’t explain the matter at the time as my priorities were elsewhere.

Thankfully my son is now doing extremely well, but I am searching my emails for a contact within NATS and just cannot find one.

Would anyone have any advice on how I could approach them explaining what happened and asking them to perhaps allow me to reapply? I have filled in the online contact form on the website but have not had a response.

many thanks
M

Still nothing heard from July assessments.

Are people still struggling to get Stage 3 assessments? I passed stage 2 in July and still haven't been able to get a slot, early August was the last time I heard they'd released slots and after checking multiple times I never got a space.

Really don't want this to use up one of the three 'chances' on the scheme.

I check the original email every few days and still nothing. On the 8th/10th August, I refreshed every 10 seconds all day and got nothing. Their last email mostly just says "Don't email us..."

Have you heard back finally? Can someone who passed or failed at stage 3 this year can tell us how long he had to wait? Thank you :)

It was around 6 weeks until they found time to tell me I hadn't made the cut, despite saying during the interview that it would be "2-3 weeks" :*

Wow that’s long… And did you feel that you succeeded after stage 3?

I wasn't very confident after Stage 3. It didn't go particularly badly but the Assessment Centre was very "HR focused". Competency-based interviews seem to rely heavily on your interview technique, which is not one of my strengths....

Hooray, another ballot-style Stage 3 extravaganza in October... 🙄

Stage 3
 

Hi everyone,
Has anyone any feedback on how the stage 3 assessments have been going at all? Not after what the exact questions are but anyone able to shed light on the day about the order of things or if you are able to advise if the ATC test is multiple choice. If I’ve understood this right, there are more psychometric tests, group exercise and an interview.
Thank you.