holidays
 

totally agree Steve64.. nothing yet on the sim support officer job, eh? I'm still waiting too...At this rate, I'll probably already have another job before they even tell me if I scored an interview or not... Oh well... it's all a big waiting game :)

Kiwi chick

Have completed the online tests today. I heeded your advice and had a calculator at the ready. It would have been tough without it. I am glad they are over and it was a relief to answer the final question and see the message on screen . . . . Assessment complete!

All that is left to do is wait.

WhichWayIsNorth I am applying for the experienced controller positions. I am yet to receive the Xmas e-mail (maybe i'm out because i'm a POM). I thought you might be out after South Africa beat Australia in the cricket :-)
Does your application still say under review?

Anyway lets all enjoy Xmas and recommence in the New Year :-)

Haha, i also thought after the cricket they might just lose my application. Yes still says ''Application under review'' online but some peoples applications who applied very late near cutoff are still saying ''Application received''

I had my interview for the experienced controller positions the other day and they shed some light as to why it might be taking people a while to hear back-they've had over 200 applicants! Somehow I don't think they were expecting that many...

On that note as well, apparently I'm one of the younger ones that have applied and it seemed from what they were saying they're after people with more experience. :{ Ah well, I guess I'll find out in the new year!


Have a good christmas folks!!

Same time next year.
 

Unsuccessful on the online test ....... Disappointed yes, but try again this time next year. Best of luck to all in whatever stage you may be at ...... Happy Xmas to all.

Just got the email to say I was unsuccessful for the SSO job. I didn't fit the selection criteria apparently.

Steve, I am not surprised at all by that. The blippies seem in some way to be like the docks of old, that is, there is no way that you will get a start unless you know/ are related to someone.
Seriously, how can they tell you that you don't fit the selection criteria to be a blippie, yet you fitted the selection criteria to be trained as an ATC?
One of the 2 criteria is clearly wrong.

SSO job
 

Hi Steve,

Me too. Didn't meet the criteria. HUH??? Aviation experience..check, work well in a small team..check, committed..check, proactive..check, communications skills..check, solution-focused..check. WTF??:ugh:

Friends in Airservices..:(

Merry Christmas to all.

Hey jcr737, steve64, canadiangal75... Dare I add my two cents worth? :bored:

Yes, OK, I will. :\

Firstly, Steve64 sorry to hear you didn't get it :{

We blip, as well as learn how to be controllers. The blipping side - at this stage of training - is almost as hard as the controlling side.

My aviation experience only helps with the phraseology. That's it.

The rest is as much manipulating a computer with a fairly modern software package as well as doing the "three-dimensional" or "spatial" thinking that they look for in controllers. Perhaps, if this was an area of your weakness, this might be why you weren't successful?


Canadiangal75 obviously I can't answer without seeing your feedback - and I don't for one moment profess to be an expert - but from my experience (living with an Air Traffic Controller for three years) there's quite a step up from Flight Data/Flight Service.

Flight Data/Service is the phase we're on at the moment, after three months of training. Once we get rated to do that, we still have another nine months of training to be controllers.

I guess my advice would be to find out where your weaknesses were, make them your strengths if you can, then give it everything you've got next time :) :ok:

Craigieburn, not so - I think you'll find a fair majority of the SSOs are ex trainees.

Two cents worth
 

Hi kiwichick,

Thanks you for your descriptive post re the SSO (blip) role. One question though, we received an email informing us of the outcome, other than a vague reference to not meeting the criteria for the role no other information was given, so where is it that we failed?

We cannot strengthen our supposed weakness without knowing what it may be. We did not get an interview, do any sort of test, receive feedback or any pointers to future endeavours. We applied wholeheartedly, believed we met the stated criteria and now are left wondering just what our perceived weakness is. As for Steve he is an ex-trainee. :confused:

As for feedback I attended an assessment day for trainee ATC in Brisbane on September 10th, was unsuccessful as I posted here back in November, am still waiting on the requested feedback.

I know you cannot answer for Airservices, just getting disappointment, again, off my chest. Good luck with your further training.

thanks for your input kiwichick... I'm not sure you know what a flight service specialist actually does in Canada... My training definitely was not only 3 months long. I sat in a tower and did vehicle control service, relayed clearances, issued advisory service...basically ask the pilot rather then tell him what to do, and you know what? that can be quite difficult when they decide they are going to not follow your instructions... Also do all weather obeservations, issue notams, deal with emergencies etc....Yes I realize it's not exactly the same, but, it is a little more similar than say someone who works in a telstra call centre, wouldn't you say?

Anyway, I haven't gotten the negative email for SSO as of yet, but expecting it shortly as my application now says application outcome.

Haha! That's what I used to do :p

Well to give you guys some idea, as far as I know, they only have 2 people in HR for controllers applying, 1 works part time and does experienced ATC's and the other person works full time and does ab initio.

As you can no doubt tell from the length of this thread, there are a lot of applicants, and not many people to process them. I myself applied Waaaaaay back in march, and only this week did I receive my formal offer (signed etc) thats a lot of time to screen, vet and assess someone that is already doing the job, but as I said there are only 2 people doing the job, and given they get somewhere in the vacinity of 4000 or so apps a year, testing interviews and finalising of contracts, job offers, travel and general liasing....well you can imagine that the HR ladies have their work cut out for them.

@kiwichick there is so much difference between flight data and controlling. previous aviation experience will help you immensely. knowledge of general aviation procedures, documents such as AIP, knowing acronyms etc just gives you that much more breathing room when you are learning to control, and people without that knowledge will struggle whilst learning what you already know, and at the same time trying to learn how to control at the same time.

Duane, that is exactly the point I was making... I was referring to my aviation knowledge not helping with the SSO job, not in my position as a trainee controller :ok:

Canadiangal, everything you described is what they used to do in NZ, and is what we're doing at the moment. To the best of my knowledge, when we finish this module in a couple of weeks we will be rated as (equivalent) Flight Data/Flight Information officers and could technically go out and work in Class G airspace (as you said - asking the pilot instead of telling him). I didn't intend to offend you - if I have, I apologise.

jcr737, indeed, I definitely cannot answer for AirServices - I'm only trying to give some constructive advice from my point as a trainee. I understand your frustrations with not getting feedback, and I guess if I was in the same situation I'd keep asking until I got answers.

As Duane said, I understand they are very very busy with over 4,000 applicants per year. I don't envy them one bit :bored:

I suspect the Class G part leaves the trainees rather "underdone" because it's one area they consistently struggle with. But then I may not be a totally unbiased observer as I'm ex-flight service.

Way back when, the flight service course was six months and covered pretty much what canadiangal mentioned. These days it doesn't need to cover a lot of the stuff that's not specifically traffic related, but I think those extras provided more rounded training - better able to cope with the weird stuff you inevitably get in G. It built a broader base.

Pingouin....don't get me started!!

I accept your apology kiwichick.. you may not realize it, but you are still a trainee and have a lot to learn. Even when you will get licenced... Going off babbling saying you can do what someone else took 1 year of training to do within 3 months is extremely rude and disrespectful. especially when you have never done the actual job yourself.

As Le Pingouin said, and thank you very much for backing me up on this, your training is designed for air traffic controller, not FSS. Even if you think FSS are not worthy of anything, the work they do is a whole different challenge to being a controller.. You certainly get a lot of strange things in the job. Just the fact that you cannot tell the pilot what to do makes it a huge challenge. As a controller, you have a plan and you make it happen.. As a FSS, you have a plan and have to constantly change it as some pilots do not wish to land on the same runway as everyone else, they don't care about the 6 aircraft landing on runway 26, they want to land on runway 08!

Next time, think before giving your 2 cents, ok?

As for my feedback, I was on JCR's assessment day on September 10th in Brisbane and have yet to receive it. So I understand his frustration as I am in the same boat.

Just remember, just because you made it to the academy, does not guarantee a licence. So understand a lot of hard work is required.

Good luck everyone, no matter what stage you are at, and I think most of us agree that HR have a difficult task with the selection process because as the track record has proved, they are wrong about approximately 50% of the trainees they put through. That could mean that they may have been wrong about the ones they didn't put through.

The proof to my final statement is that some people get in the second time around and actually get licenced just as some people who get in the first time, don't get licenced.

Well said Candaiangal. In particular I agree with your HR comment about being wrong 50% of the time. I know that when I reapply next year I will put away thoughts of aviation related mathematics and study the financial times instead to see what company trends from year to year are. ....... :E

KiwiChick, you stated:Maybe that is the case in the College/Academy, but I thought that Steve applied for a job at Brisvegas. I understand that a couple of ab initio courses are being run out of Brisbane, but using the op's room sim.
My comment about the nepotism/cronyism applies more to the operational sim.
In terms of ex-trainees being employed as blippies, I thought that the now departed ex bank manager decreed that no failed trainees were to be employed as blippies?