The theory phases usually run 7am-3pm, and you generally finish up on the dot. I guess the instructors also want to get out of there.

For those newbies starting over the next couple of months, and will be looking for a house to rent, we will have one available around mid Dec as my course is coming to an end.
We currently lease a three bedroom house in Tullamarine about 6 minutes drive from AirServices @ $330 p/w.
If interested PM me

Cheers :ok:

I also have a 2 bedroom unit in Maribyrnong which will be free in Jan, rent is $350 close to shops and public transport, about a 20min drive to the city or work.


As to the question regarding finish times, the college is open from 7am to 7pm with courses starting and finishing between those times, usually rotating every couple of weeks (or for tower guys 7:30-2:30 or 10:00-5:00 generally finding out the friday before). In the first 10 weeks we did work 7am-3pm but can't say if that's the norm (or that you should expect it)

Hi again everyone,

I completed the on-line testing last month and received an email stating I'd have a phone interview in the next month or so. If successful there, I assume the next step is a trip to MEL for more testing and an interview. Is this incorporated into one stage? ie...living interstate will it mean having to make numerous trips or can it all be done in one hit so to speak?

I'm sure its somewhere in the thread here but would anyone have any clue about the timeframe for someone like me who is yet to be interviewed before my course will begin next year, should I manage to get through. I have the opportunity to apply for a neat little job where I am now (not a career though) but am reluctant to begin something new if its not going to be anymore than a few months until I would need to relocate to MEL if successful in getting on a course.

Just trying to come up with some sort of plan is all!!

Thanks

Dreamer
- the testing and interviewers will usually come to your state, not bring everyone to Mel.
- do not put your life on hold waiting for AsA. Make AsA your Plan B. Lots of time can elapse between being interviewed and being coursed. The needs of the 'business' can change very quickly indeed- if there is any event which diminishes air travel (think SARS, terrorism etc.), AsA could potentially stop all recruiting in the blink of an eye.

That's my advice, anyway.

I don't agree with Ferris as there seems to be a real commitment within the organisation to change for the better. A change of the recruitment strategies and fixed course commencement dates. A realisation that errors were made and finally an acknowledgement that it is critical to get the right applicants, the best selected and not to p**s people off by not making decisions and endless delays. I guess only time wil tell...

To Dreamer 84.
I think Ferris's point is that you shouldn't hold yourself back in your current job, based on an ASA opportunity which is anything less than guaranteed. Whilst it is unlikely that ASA will suspend recruitment or 'scale back', it IS possible, and until you have a start date/paycheck, then you should strive for advancement in your current role.
The exception to this would be if the 'opportunity' at your present employer can be delayed without negative ramifications, or if the work involved is undesirable.

Can anyone tell me what the process is if one is accepted into the tower stream of training? Do you (eventually) get posted where they send you, or do you have a say? I could work in most places, but some- such as WA would be impossible to accept when one has extended family commitments. Any advice on Tower vs Enroute appreciated...

Back when I finished 3.5years ish ago, we bid on our towers. Got to put down 5 prefences. Generally most of us got one of those 5, but not always. Ultimately you will be sent where they need you. WA is a risk you run if you go for tower.

well, looks like the PR department is getting its message across :mad:

Wow - that is quite a variation in timeline and amazingly enough the first time it has been mentioned in this thread!

What sort of things lead to a 18 to 29 week blowout of the time budget ... is it simulator availability, lecturer availability etc ... is it the same material spread over a longer period so you are revving furiously in neutral on occasion or ... are there factors from the class' end that support the best or worst case scenarios or is it all in the hands of the gods per se?

Thanks!

Warren the funny thing is we cant see how they could have ever fit it in to the 44 weeks to begin with. At our current rate we progress through one exercise a day and with the limited resourses (instructors) there is no way to go faster. They did add "combined opps" to the end of the course recently which could account for some of it. But I recon they knew our course was going to be longer before we even signed the contract.

@ dreamer. I hope sunnySA is right. It took me over a year from the application due date to me sitting in ASA college. And there were several times where I got the email "just be patient we will contact you in a few weeks" and then waited over a month with no contact. Friends started to think I was lieing about my new job. For me it was worth the wait though, I just hope they improve the process not to discourage others.

I agree with SunnySA. They seem to be streamlining the process and assessments that are taking place now are for early 2011 commencement. From my readings here I had actually banked on it taking at least 12 months and am more inconvenienced by the early commencement! Still, the inconvenience will be worth it............right??

Especially if you go for Tower :ok:

Hi enemymig

Am still trying to ascertain whether enroute or tower is the better fit (for my circumstances. there has been some helpful advice (thanks) suggesting that with tower you 'bid' on approx 5 positions, and that most get one of those five.

Can you shed any light on this? (such as whether 'Melbourne' includes avalon/essendon/moorabin, or whether they are seperate bids).
Is this still the current process?

Can an applicant change there preference from enroute to tower, and if so up to which point in the training?

Is it more difficult to secure a training slot for tower or enroute?

Thanks for any help/advice you can give.

G'Day Gumaaark

The 'bid' process is still effectively the same. You get a basic list of positions on offer and you choose from them.
As the list can change, you might as well throw in a couple of places you'd like to work at that weren't options, however, we all ended up with placements that were on the original list.

Positions are at individual towers, ie Melbourne is a separate position to Moorabbin.

Before you start training you will find out which stream you're in, you can't really change once you've started (so choose wisely!)

When I applied, AsA were only offering Enroute, but I received a verbal offer for a Tower position which started a couple of months prior to the Enroute position.

I jumped at it and have never looked back.

Whilst sunnySA might be putting forward a "glass half full' approach, a "streamlined" approach to recruitment and reduction in "waiting" times will be a benefit to all. From what I heard, some of more recent delays have been whilst the recruitment processes were streamlined. Fingers crossed for those who have applied and good luck to those who have been selected.

Tower boys like emenymig love to talk up the tower, kinda an overcompansating thing
But enroute kicks towers arse. They dont find out where theyre going till almost the end of the course and pot luck whether they get what they ask.
Spose they have a higher pass rate... but thats just cause they seperate everything visual so its as easy as 1 2 3.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Years of neglect will not be overcome this year or next. But I believe that the changes being made will be a change for the better.

If you want to work internationally anywhere you will likely need enroute experience for most well paying places. For when the rose tinted glasses fade in 5 years.

Aaaah fivel

All true, I'm afraid, glad you mentioned that there is an end to our course... :E

:ooh:

yep - tower controllers all over the country are lining up and begging to transfer into en-route!!

Unless you absolutely have to live in Brisbane or Melbourne, it is a no-brainer.:ok:

Thanks enemymig and others,
Am guessing there is a little friendly rivalry between enroute and tower!

2 more questions...

Is the 'bid list' (sorry if there is a better description) limited to the less popular destinations? ie would a newbie have the option for bidding on Adelaide/Tullamarine, or the smaller airports in capital cities? or are those roles generally taken by more senior collegues, and the newbies get options at the plethora of regional towers (such as Alice springs/Cairns/Rockhampton/Broome/Jandakot). Have nothing against these places, but for family reasons (as suggested above) could be very difficult to be based outside Melbourne, Brisbane or Adelaide.

Are there options long term to transfer from enroute to tower (say after 4-5 years) or is this frowned upon/ unrealistic.

Thanks again, and sorry if there are more than 2 questions!

Gunmaaarrk,

As for tower 'choice'. All that really happens is they find the towers that need new staff and send the graduates there. They range from Capital cities to Class D and the Towers "formerly known as GAAP". One cyear you might get lucky and you favourite tower/city is on the list, other years: Alice, Broome and Launy!

*No offence to those that work there. Just having a laugh :)

As for Enroute -> Tower in 5 years? Join the queue, its about 20 years long I think.

You funny eastern staters. Jandakot isn't regional.

Not sure how they are running now but I got to bid on anything (some were certainly less likely than others though).

If you definately don't want to come west, then tower probably isn't for you.

Gumaark, as everyone else has said, if you are worried about being posted somewhere out of a capital city, go for enroute.
Yes you get to put down preferences, but they, in the grand scheme of things, mean absolutely nothing. It sounds like you want a capital city......so does everyone else on the course!

If you aren't 100% flexible and willing to go to any location, then go to enroute. In my course, quite a few people went to places not on theirs, or anyone else's preferences. Some didn't have 100% confirmation until a week before they where supposed to start.

Thanks all for the details on how the process works.
sorry for inferring jandakot was regional- having lived in Arnheim land, Cloncurry, Mt Isa, Port Augusta, and Murgon over the last 15 years, I would much rather have lived in Perth! That said, these days one has a growing family and looking for a little more stability and predictability. Sounds like enroute would be the better decision for me, should I get the option.
cheers and thanks again.

If you select Tower you are signing up to be posted to any of the 28 tower locations currently staffed by ASA, you are also agreeing to be transfered throughout your career based on operational requirements. Tower is by far the best option, however if you're not prepared to live outside Brisbane or Melbourne then go enroute.

If you can't live in WA then i would suggest not going Tower you have at least a 25% chance of getting a spot there (all tower groups currently have at least 1 person going to WA 'slated')

I wouldn't bank of the "bid for 5 positions" crap. The last tower group were given 8 (out of 28) tower positions and asked to give 3 preferences, so your options are already quite limited. You have almost zero hope of getting any brisbane based position given the current waiting list of experienced controllers for Brisbane based positions.

At the end of the day, if your given an offer for a tower course and turn it down, you will be kicking yourself for the 12-18 months your at the college, if not the rest of your career, just don't go in expecting you'll get a certain tower, not only will you be disappointed you'll piss off the rest of your course mates and instructors

Is there any form of graduation ceremony when you finish the academy with your class or is it more along the lines of you have passed your final test here - report to xxx on Monday (or is there a break between the academy and the field placement or ...)

Thanks

Unfortunately there's no graduation ceremony. The firies have one because they graduate as firies. Controllers don't graduate. They have to go out to the field and get a licence from CASA. By that stage, you and your course mates are scattered to the four winds and various training regimes, depending on which group you are allocated.

Passing out of the academy simply indicates that you have potential to make the (substantial) jump to safely handling live traffic. It's a big jump from meeting a basic standard on a 45 minute sim run, to doing it 7+ hours a day, day-after-day, to your OJTI's and checkie's satisfaction.

Perhaps there needs to be longer sim runs as you are hardly "match fit" to be doing 90-120 minutes of live traffic.

There are. Average run is 45 though

Hi guys! Anyone else whose referees were contacted?:ok:

I take it yours were contacted??

Yep. Just wondering what's gonna happen now. I haven't heard from AsA yet. Maybe in a few days. Hope yours will be contacted too. :ok:

Hi one of my referee's were contacted last week. Were both of yours contacted or just the one like myself?

The waiting is killing me!

A question to those who have done or are doing the course. What is the study work load like? As a general rule of thumb how many hours do trainees find they need to put in a week after college hours? I dont mind the study at all, just curious as what to expect if I am lucky enough to get in.

Mine was contacted this week. I'm pretty sure they called up just one of them. The waiting game is a killer isn't it...

Question is, does it mean we passed the assessment day or this is just part of it?

Are we near the end of a very loooong and gruesome tunnel? :)

Your referee wouldn't have been contacted unless you passed the assessment centre.

The first 10 weeks you cover alot of theory and theory exams, i think most students in my group were studying at least a couple hours a night. Once you start in the sim work i think the "home" study work load decreases other then the odd few hours a week that you might go over standards or what not.

Don't plan on getting a second job, you wont have time during theory and when you hit the sim it tends to suck the life out of you with no energy left in the afternoon for a 2nd job.

Hope that helps

Thats great information, thank you. Gives me an idea of what to expect.

no, but getting closer to entering one! :)