hard to tell ELone

There is a course starting next month, and I'm sure there will be 1 or possibly 2 more starting by the end of the year.

The timings have been different for everyone depening on where you are going, when you applied, a bit of luck etc.

I applied November 2009 when the applications were going to be cut off January 2010, then the extended the applications until June that year, so I didn't end up doing my online testing until September, phone interview December, Assessment day February, found out I was in in April and then started at airservices in June.. so the whole process took 19 months for me, and was the same for a couple of others in my course.

If you're doing your assessment day soon though I'd expect that they would want to get you into the academy by the end of the year. I know it's taken 6-7 months for some people between the assessment day and their start date, but most seem to have been closer to 4-5 months.

I know it's a LONG process but I also know they are wading through heaps of applicants so it's always going to take a while. But trust me, once you get the phone call with a start date the time goes quick. I had 3 months and that was only just enough time to get my medical and plan an interstae move!

I just emailed the recruitment team on whether or not there is any detailed information that we need to know as I haven't received any conformation email yet either. I'll let you guys know as soon as they get back to me. Elone and SirDuke, I look forward to meeting you both on the day. By the sounds of things, it's going to be us 3 plus another 3 applicants on the 19th.

Good work Mat! If three of us haven't heard anything then I suppose that's OK: they mustn't have sent us anything. But maybe it's an oversight, so let us know if you hear anything back!

Just got an email from Airservices Aus. outlining what will happen on the assessment day as well as what documents to bring with you.

Ok so Airservices sent me two emails back today: one was an answer to my question and the other was a conformation email. They said in the response email that all i need to bring is myself and to be prepared for a long busy day. BUT in the conformation email it states that we do need to bring the following (Both the original and a copy):
-Proof of Australian residency
-Proof of ID
-Proof of qualifications
-A passport sized photo for them to keep.

Heres what the email had to say:


The assessment day is staggered for each candidate. You will take part in:



- A group problem solving activity

- An individual simulation exercise

- A behavioural based interview

- An individual briefing exercise

- Spatial & diagrammatic reasoning as well as verification of your original online test results





We recommend that you come dressed in smart casual clothes for the Assessment Centre. Lunch will be provided on the day.






Assessment Centre Process:




It is mandatory that you bring the following original documents and a copy with you on the day:

Proof of Australian / New Zealand citizenship or Australian permanent residency
Photo ID (this can be the same document as your proof of citizenship/residency)
Proof of qualifications
A passport sized photograph of yourself for us to keep



Six candidates are invited each day. We have a number of Assessors made up of Operational Air Traffic Controllers, Managers and our Human Resources team. These people are trained in the assessment and selection process. We try to keep the process as relaxed as possible, as this is the best way to get to know you and determine if there is a real fit between you, the requirements of the job and our organisation. On some days observers and/or trainee Assessors will be present.



You will be advised in as soon as possible after the assessment centre if you have been successful in being offered a place on a training course.



Any verbal offer of a place on one of our courses is subject to satisfactory reference checks with present and past employers, as well as you obtaining a Class 3 Medical Certificate.

Awesome ELone, looks like we all got the conformation email then :ok:

SirDuke, Elone and MAT00,
I look forward to meeting you all next Wednesday!
I will be one of the assessors there on the day.
Just remember it is a long day, and to be yourself.
If you have had any tips from anyone on this site (or anywhere else) I would suggest you ignore it, and do the best YOU can do.
We can smell a pre-briefed candidate a mile away!
Good Luck to all of you that are attending next week.
Cheers
Boonie.

Thanks YAASB, I'm hopeless with a script anyway so you'll get pure "me". I figure I've got this far with that strategy, so why change a winning formula? :D

One thing I've been trying to find out is the location of the college. All information only says "Melbourne": is it at the airport or elsewhere?

Thanks YAASB! Looking forward to meeting you on the day!! (although we are attending on Tuesday, not Wednesday, but I assume you'll be there then as well). Thanks for the advice, it definitely seems that being yourself is the best and only way: you're either ATC material or your not (although i certainly hope that I am lol, and will be doing the best I can to get in).

BYO headset because by the time you hit final training in Melb YOU STILL WON'T BE ISSUED ONE.:ugh:
No excuse:=

Tower Rd, Tullamarine, (West of the airport).

Literally in the shadow of the (two) tower(s).

Chu, I suspect the radio techs would get just a little upset with trying to use a BYO headset. We do have a cupboard full of spares for just such situations......

Thank you to all those that attended the testing in Melbourne last week.
We had a successful week with some excellent candidates.

Unfortunately, we also had some people that were again pre-briefed. It never ceases to amaze me that people think they can get away with it. The assessors do these test so often, it is obvious when someone gets "help". The only problem is that they also don't get an offer! Of course those that did take assistance will never know if they would have got through on their own merits.

Anyway, for those that did come and be themselves, and had a good crack at it, we will be working on references and a few other bits of paperwork.
It may take a little while, be patient, and hopefully some good news will be coming your way shortly.

Thanks again to all those that attended.
Good Luck!

Cheers
Boonie.

YAASB, is that mentioned anywhere in the info provided to applicants? I guess it would be hard to get across because "of course you'd say that" & it's human nature.

Of course the reality is (largely) you've either got it or not, as the case may be & no amount of test preparation will help in the end.

Hi,

Has anybody who attended the 27-29th June assessment centres in Sydney
received any feedback, positive or negative? We were told it would take
between 3-4 weeks, but nothing so far..
Anyway, good luck to you all!

Cheers

le Pingouin,

No, it is not expressly stated in any documentation, but common decency of not trying to "defraud" should prevail.

That is so correct, and people who try and use a perceived "advantage" end up without an offer.

Cheers,
Boonie.

"Please don't bother seeking a 'briefing' of the test. It stands out like the proverbial to the assessors and will result in rejection".

Might be worth trying to scare those who would otherwise get through on their own merits but are tempted to gain every advantage due to the relatively low acceptance rate.

Mind you, I guess that's what you're trying to achieve by posting here as where else do the applicants get the inside goss?......

We are after all trying to put bums in seats :ok:

Room available near training academy
 

Hi All,
I have a room available in Taylors Hill. It takes about 20 minutes to get into work in the morning. Three bedroom, two story house close to shops, fully furnished, good study area, two bathrooms, unlimited internet included. $120/wk.
Two of us here are in ENR50 having started in April.

If anyone's interested, get in contact.

Cheers all
Kieran

how long till next stage?
 

Hi,
I'm wondering if there's anyone on here who had a phone interview during the week June 20-25. There was obviously a bunch of us. I was told that I'd hear back in "2-3 weeks", but it's been nearly six weeks for me now and I still haven't heard anything, I'm wondering if they forgot me somehow.
I know others on here had much slower processes, but this year seems a little quicker than others. I didn't really do myself justice in the phone interview, although I thought I did OK, and I know people say that "good news travels as slowly as bad news" but I wonder whether ASA send the best people through to the assessment day first and then wait to see if anyone bombs out there or withdraws, before going back for the second-bests.

Ergaster2: If your worried about whether they have forgotten you, I'd say give the recruitment team a call. I was scheduled for my phone interview in early June and initially didn't get a call at the time i was booked in (due to some mix up of two matthews applying at the same time lol), so i called the recruitment team the next day and it was sorted out very promptly. Honestly I'd say that you arent forgotten though, these things do take time.

Boonie: Thanks to yourself and all the other assessors on the day for making it as relaxing and stress free as possible. Its a shame that some people still attended pre-briefed. Apart from wasting your time, they're only doing themselves a disservice. Looking forward to hearing how i went on the day! Fingers crossed lol.

Hi All,
This is for anyone in the know.
Airservices has advertised for ATC DELIVERY
SPECIALISTS, Brisbane and Melbourne
locations.
My question is: Is Airservices looking to
ramp up courses run out of Brisbane?
This is how it looks.
Thanks in advance for anyone in the know.
This would would be good as I live in Brisbane.

Just curious, for those that got through, wondering how much be notification you got after getting an offer, before actually starting. Did you get any choice in your start date?
The application form gives us an option to specify that we need four weeks notification with our current employers, but not much more flexibility (it'd be nice to be able to quit my current job a while before starting the training, to get a bit of a holiday.
Thanks,

Someone who just started said they got about 9 weeks notice of their start date, and I think mine was about the same at the start of the year, so if it's about the same, you could probably get in a holiday alright :)

not new to the site but thought i would finally sign up.

i applied for the atc role in june and heard back in july and just recently completed my online testing. i'm yet to hear anything further, so i pressume i will sometime get an email stating i have or have not been successful.

is anyone else at the same progress as me?

Patience
 

Hi Mclovin2,

I know it doesn't help much but I applied in April, completed the on-line assesment in May/June and have not heard from ASA recruitment since. Some applicants on this forum have indicated that the process can take up to 18 months, knowing this doesn't stop me from wanting to email them to see if I have progressed past the on-line assesment.

Mclovin2 I'm in pretty much the same situation as you. Applied June and have also just recently completed the online tests.

I'm not expecting to hear anything soon though as I've accepted it is going to be a long process. Like everyone I would love to get some good news though!

Just have to forget about it almost, otherwise the waiting will kill you!

ASA recruitment don't employ a huge number of people, and concurrently with their ab-initio intake they are running a campaign for experienced ATCOs, who must also complete the aptitude testing and interview process. As many of those applicants will be ex-military controllers required to provide the RAAF with 90 days' notice, if they want them starting in 2012, their applications need to be finalised now.

No doubt, they're just busy!

Hi everybody!

I am new here on the forum, although have peeked a view times!
I have my assessment day in Brisbane soon, and I was just sooooooooooooo excited to hear about the training now also been given in Brisbane. I live 15 minutes from the airport :ok:

I have done the "old" assessment test day 3 or 4 years ago, and was so disappointed to have just missed out (got through all the tests quite a bit above the mark, but failed on the last simulation test. I think I was just tired or something???? Who knows.) Went back to work etc., blah, blah........but hey, old dreams and passions never die!!!

I have been wanting to be an ATController since I was 20 years old! Went through all the tests 20 years ago already in Amsterdam and got really far then (last 20 out of 600 or so, they hired 10 :uhoh:). Tests were different again back then. Just as hard!

I am determined to get into the training this (last?) time. I think I really have what it takes, but we will know by the end of the month (hopefully). If not, I at least know I really have given it my everything.... I guess I am living proof you should never give up on your dreams. I have already had a very satisfying and rewarding career (and am still in the middle of it), but this passion seems to keep itching :)

Hope to have good news on this forum in a few weeks or months time. Great to have met you! (regardless of the future)

Not wanting to burst any bubbles, but I wouldn't count on getting a Brisbane spot if you get through, I'm from Brisbane and they sent me to Melbourne, along with a few others, and the most recent course that did start in Brisbane has mostly Melbourne people apparently! Very silly, especially since they pay a moving allowance, they could have saved themselves quite a lot of money.

But I'd consider it a win either way for you, Brisbane means you stay at home, Melbourne, you get to come to the college and be with a lot of other people doing the same thing, which is helpful, plus I've found not being at home has removed a lot of distractions as well!

What's the story with Bris Instructors? Are they full time like the Melbourne set up or are they GTS/NTS (or whatever they are now) or Controllers full time? Are they expected to remain current on their regular groups?

2011 update
 

Thanks for all this info guys. I've had my phone interview and I'll have the test day in Brisbane in 3 weeks or so. Does anyone here know a bit more on what to expect during that day? And has it changed since the previous posts? tnx!

20 years ago in Amsterdam....
 

@jetdownunder: Are you Dutch too? Hope to see you in Brizzie next month. At the end of the phone interview, I was told I'd get an invite for the test, so no waiting at all for a couple of weeks!

McLovin2:

If you just completed the online assessment in the last few weeks I wouldn't worry yet. As they say on here, "good news travels as slowly as bad news". I don't see why one couldn't hear back right away after the online test, since it's automated, but maybe they standardise the results, or only have different cut-off scores for people from different cities (for the testing day), or maybe (since it's ran by some external, British, company) it takes a while for them to get the results back. Those would be the only valid reasons I could think of.

Anyway, FWIW, without giving out too much information, my process has been something like this:
mid-March: applied
earl April: finally established that ASA hadn't actually got my application properly, and applied again
end of May: received an invitation to do the online test (I was given about eight days to do it)
mid June (about nine days after the final date for completing the online test): received an email saying I'd been successful, and then soon after an invite to arrange a time for a phone interview
late June: phone interview (I had the choice of times spread out over one week)
early August: invited for the testing day in late August.

So for me the big wait was after the phone interview (even though I was told I would hear back in two or three weeks).

I guess most people who failed wouldn't be on here any more, so we wouldn't really know if it takes longer to get a rejection letter or not. I didn't think I did that well on the online test.

I think the next set of testing days (other than the ones coming up in a week or two) are in Melbourne in late October. If you're not in Melbourne, perhaps they're waiting till there's a testing day in your city.

Cheers,

Recently joined these forums, So hi everyone!
Just posting my ATC application progress so far.

Applied for:
Job ID: 492434 – People & Change - Air Traffic Controller in Training 2011 - Nationally
(not sure what "people & changed" means, but I double checked and it appears to be ATC, if someone can clear this up that would be great.)

Early July: submitted my job application, including resume.
Early August: Completed online SHL tests.Currently Mid August: Waiting for a Email regarding Phone interview.Thanks and good luck all :)

Yes I'm Dutch. I have my test day next Monday. But I didn't get feedback right after the phone interview (which was half July), but was told I would hear from them in a few weeks time, which happened exactly so. Heard 2 weeks or so ago that I could book myself into any 3 days of testing in Brisbane, which is next week!!!! So exciting!

TEST DAYS
 

@jetdownunder: congratulations, and nice to see that two people from Holland got this far. Let's go the distance! I got my test day in Brizzie second week of September. Getting more excited with every step in the process. A couple of questions: I fly in from Far North Queensland for the test day (the red eye flight, so that good night sleep before the test is gonna be a short one). I arrive only at Brisbane Domestic at 08:05am and the test day starts at 08:30..... Does anyone know how to get as fast as possible to the test location? How long it takes to get there from Domestic? Where the test location actually is (Airport Avenue is very long.....).

Two more questions: Is it true that courses are also starting to be ran in Brisbane and when do the next courses actually start?

Utter madness. ERSA quotes 10min delays for aircraft arriving at 0805. I am guessing you are on JQ929 ex Cairns. Actual landing time today :- 0822 yesterday :- 0814 (on a Sunday). You need to come down the night before and get a good sleep and not be rushed if you want to give this your best shot.

@ willadvise
 

Thanks for your "professional" opinion. Forking out 300 bucks to attend a test day is already expensive enough (for me, at present). Add a hotel to it and it becomes unaffordable. And I have several other reasons why I'm forced to choose this option. So "utter madness" is not helpful, nor constructive. Without you knowing me or my circumstances, this qualification is offensive. You've left my questions unanswered. So maybe you could consider changing your screen name?

Is there anybody else around here who has some answers for me please?

Ask23: Don't be too defensive there.... I've done the flight from CNS to BNE, and I have also done the testing. There would be no way that I would consider doing both on the same day.

Plenty of sacrifices to be made if you wish to progress through the college and field. I believe that if you can't fork out for a cheap hotel and another half day off to be prepared then maybe it is not the best time.

Perhaps not "utter madness", but don't you want to give yourself every opportunity?

Brisbane ATC Course Instructors
 

Hi Plaz,

The courses in Brissie are run by a combination of ATC Instructors based in Brissie and some of the Brissie simulator TGOs, who have instructor qualifications (and are often ex-ATCs as well) do a lot of the classroom. All sim is conducted by ATC instructors. The ATC instructors are full time and not part of the groups.

Currently two courses are being run in Brissie at the moment. They are some of the first from the new and improved recruitment regime, of which I am one of the assessors. Having been part of the old recruitment system, the new system is a qantum leap better. So far the reports from the ATC instructors are that we are indeed getting better trainees, or more accurately, the trainees we pick are of the required ATC standard.

Well Plaz, hope all is going well for you in North America. If you want to come back, I can find you a spot back in Brissie no probs (actually anywhere in Oz, name your station). The surf and weather have been great, and the its Ekka Wednesday, and I have the day off. :cool: