Eurocontrol - Maastricht Conversion Courses
 

To all those interested . Eurocontrol Maastricht will advertise at the end of this week for Conversion Controllers. There will be at least 8 positions on offer.

It will only be advertised on their website ie. http://www.eurocontrol.int

The first course will begin in the 2nd week of March 2008.

Sheeze, mate !

Are things soooooo quiet for you in training you've been reduced to touting for business here? What's the world coming to at all, at all ? :}:}:}

Hi
when you say conversion course, do you mean a shortened course for already qualifed controllers, IE not the full 3 years?

I couldn't find anything on the website, any chance of a more specific link.

Thanks, and sorry if I missed something obvious

126 Should come up here

Northern Monkey,

You can expect the advertisement on the website by Friday 23rd November 2007.

You are correct in that they are looking for already qualified ATC's.
So the course is abbreviated....BUT
Due to the Saftey Authority regulations the Controllers will join an Abinitio course starting in Maastricht. The length of training is a minimum of 12 months but you can expect that the total training time will be between 12-16 months.

The training is as follows
3A ( 5 weeks ) .. Transition training eg. Map exams etc.
4A ( 2 weeks ) .. Letters of agreement & Simulation
4A Cont'd ( 9 weeks ) .. OJT on the planning position
4B ( 9 weeks ) .. Simulation & 1 week exam period
5A ( OJT ) .. OJT, normally will last minimum 6 months

To start in the second week of March....

I'd say most ATCO's must give at least 3 months notice and usually more depending on experience. Eurocontrol will have to pick them quickly....

Only currently Area valid considered for this conversion???

viaEGLL

I cant comment on the selection committee but I would gather they would look at currently endorsed Area Controllers. It's worth an application though, who knows.

Radar,

Hahahahahaha. Not so quiet, just looking for people to replace me so I can come back in on that wonderful roster you guys will be getting :} 3 on 3 off looks very enticing shame it will take a while.

3 on, 3 orf ........ don't make me larf!!!

You'll be so busy working conversions to make that roster a reality, you'll never see a CWP again :}

Anyone able to let me know what the conditions experienced recruits will be employed under?

What pay scale would you start on?
What amount of rec leave is available?
What are the weekly hours?

What is it like to work at Maastrict?

I have 12 years experience in Australia, mostly in Arrivals and Enroute Radar.

Any info would be appreciated.

Hi guys, here is the link for the conversion controllers application:

https://extranet.eurocontrol.int/htt...l_ENG_LIVE.htm



Just some quick info: need to hold a European nationality, as well as a valid radar license and ICAO english level 4.

West atc, the conditions are mentioned in the job description if you follow the link.

West ATC,

Check your PM's

Euronator
 

Out of interest what sort of money is getting taken home now by you guys. 1EUR = $1.70AUD as of today:eek:

Track Coastal,

As of today, I take home around $A15,500 per month (AFTER TAX). This does NOT include OT/ED which is plentiful at the moment.

Lon More earns more than this sitting on his ass & drinking beer. Lets say the pension scheme is pretty good.:} ...Hi Lon

Assuming you spend a third on the mortgage, thats probably the best deal going at the moment (ie comparing to the ME) courtesy of the booming big E currency. :D:D

PS To take home $15,500 a month ($186,000pa) in Australia one has to earn only $301,200 pa before tax.:eek:

Good work mate.:ok:

Dear Euronator ! Reiterating West ATC's enquiry, what salary approximately would experienced recruits expect to commence on ? Is the salary structure like a slow 13-year climb to the top, or is it qualification/rating based ? (meaning you simply are paid subject to ATC/instructor/supervisor ratings as they are achieved). I understand the training is for at least 9 months, which I assume would be on a probationary training wage of sorts ? The application mentions an appointment for an "undetermined period". Would this typically be 1 year ? 5 years ? And what exactly is "1.9% of pension rights" ? Does it mean that after say 10 years you would receive 19% of an equivalent Dutch national pension...?

How would the cost of living compare to that say in Australia ? Housing, rent, car, food etc...?

And lastly what is it like living in Maastricht ?

Thanks

Expect there will be a few controllers from the UK who'll be watching this with interest......in the past I've heard that NATS persuaded Eurocontrol that taking any of their controllers would be a bad idea....bit of a "gentlemans agreement" :=? Hope there is a level playing field for EVERYONE considering applying. Good luck if you are one of them :ok:.

Balloon24,

Pretty sure that the days of that 'gentleman's agreement' are long gone. Let's face it there are sod all gentlemen left in this game at the moment. Everyone's trying their utmost to fill the gaps.

Best of luck to one and all who apply.

Wolf Wolf

Not to sound too derogatory but this information is available on the Eurocontrol Website. It even mentions it in BIG RED WRITING !!! on the Vacancy section. It is located on the PDF document called our staff regulations ( General Conditions of Employment for Eurocontrol Maastricht ). The page number you are looking for is Page 58 in the document or Page 72 in the PDF file.

These figures are all NET (after tax) sums.

Echelons/Steps
Grade 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
O8 8.008,58 8.437,24 8.865,90 9.294,56 9.723,22 10.151,88
O7 6.926,48 7.297,63 7.668,78 8.039,93 8.411,08 8.782,23
O6 5.896,65 6.220,76 6.544,87 6.868,98 7.193,09 7.517,20 7.841,31 8.165,42
O5 5.102,07 5.342,54 5.583,01 5.823,48 6.063,95 6.304,42 6.544,89 6.785,36
O4 4.286,57 4.485,22 4.683,87 4.882,52 5.081,17 5.279,82 5.478,47 5.677,12
O3 3.910,19 4.098,38 4.286,57 4.474,76 4.662,95 4.851,14 5.039,33 5.227,52
O2 3.293,34 3.434,48 3.575,62 3.716,76 3.857,90 3.999,04 4.140,18 4.281,32
O1 2.948,33 3.068,56 3.188,79 3.309,02 3.429,25 3.549,48 3.669,71 3.789,94

Now where you fit in to this equation ie. O4 or O3 is up to you and HR.

In my case I came to Eurocontrol with 8 years Radar experience and slotted into Grade O4 Step 5 ie. I got 1 step for every 2 years of experience.

Now dependant on your situation is what EXTRA allowances you get on top of this.

So lets say you have 8 years experience & are Married with 1 child.

Eurocontrol pays you around 270 euro per month as a Head of Household allowance ie. For the Mrs (so she tells me)

Eurocontrol will also pay you around 260 euro per month for EACH kiddie you have.

So in your case lets say basic salary is 4,882,52 +270+260 = 5412.52

But wait there's more. If you are NOT a Dutch National you are entitled to an Expatriation allowance of 16% of the above sum = 866.00

This gives you a sum of 6278.52 per month.

You are then get an ATC allowance = roughly 600 euro per month

This gives you a sum of 6878.52 per month.

Then once you start on Shift work you will get the Composite Shift work allowance or Flat rate shift allowance which is around 1100 per month.

There are OTHER benefits as well but you can do a bit of homework with HR about the Educational , Annual Travel expenses etc that they pay.

You will get this amount ie. 6878.52 from the day you start , I am not sure when the Flat rate shift allowance kicks in. There is however a nice little allowance that compensates for this known as the Daily Substance Allowance you can ask HR about this one. This will adequately cover the FRSA you dont get immediately.

Your progression through the steps is Bi-annually. Every 5 years you go up a Grade ie 04 to 05. You cannot decrease in salary.

The pension rights work out to 1.9% of basic salary for every year of service paid for by Eurocontrol. What does this mean. Well if you serve Eurocontrol for 25 years you will get almost 50% of you END BASIC salary as a Pension.So your assumption is correct.

The Training period will be between 12-16 months. More than likely on the latter end of the spectrum.

Now with regard to the other issues.

The probation period is 9 months or until you checkout FULLY ie your 2nd Checkout within the sector group. whichever is later. Hence the reason they put this in probationary period of 9 months which could be extended pending gaining the full qualification. Once you are outside the probation period you are a Eurocontrol staff member for as long as YOU want to be ie. Permanent.

I would say the cost of living is a little more expensive here eg. the general price of food & petrol (1.45 per litre for Unleaded , 1.20 for diesel , varies country to country )

The housing prices are becoming more on par with Australia each time I return. Although you wont have the space you might be accustomed to.

The rental prices for a fairly nice place vary from country to country ie The Netherlands you will pay around 1000-1200 euro per month (maybe more) for decent accommodation but in Belgium (20 kms away) you will pay less.

Maastricht is a great little city. Equivalent in size to Launceston (maybe slightly bigger ) but very central & so many options to travel. You will be 2.5 hours by TGV to Paris Gare Nord.

That's about it....No more questions ?