I know from my assessment day 2 out of the 8 got through. Given that I have started with 11 others, 3 of those did assessments in Queensland and one was a hangover from the last recruitment not many got through.
Like others have said, you are only competing against yourself, sorry if my figures were misconstrued.
All I can say is try, and good luck.

Hey le Pingouin are you Tower or Enroute in Melbourne?

Yeah I know its a pretty low pass rate, so Ill just have to wait it out and see. Oh well.

Le pingouin; You nailed it!
 

Quoting Le pingouin "You need to be able to maintain a good balance of contradictory demands - speed & accuracy, attention to detail without obsessing, flexibility within a rigid framework of rules, confident but aware of your limitations, able to adapt the way you work to suit the situation. "

That is the best description of the attributes required to be an ATC that I have read. For all applicants, study this as it describes just what you will need to do to be successful in the course and role. Brilliant description.

I also agree with Fatty182, on the course itself, very few candidates voluntarily withdraw. Invariably, some are selected who do not have the aptitude for the job and they are not successful in the simulator modules, as they are unable to produce the attributes described by Le pingouin.

ECC, I'm enroute.

Thanks for the plaudits Totalunit. I don't claim any great insight, just 20 years of experience & some pondering on the question.

I suspect you either have more or less the right balance of attributes before the course or you don't. You can learn to modify your behaviour to a certain extent during the course but under pressure you revert.

For those just starting.

It will be a long and hard road, but worth it imo :D

I was on a recent course, we had aproxx 50% move into final field and it looks like all will rate. So if you work hard there is a good chance you can make it.

There will be times that you just "dont get" something. Keep plugging away, its the kind of stuff that will just click at a certain time, sometimes only a week before the exam :ok:

If you dont make it, its probably due no fault of your own. Not everyone can do this job.

Good luck

AU Viper - A couple of questions for you.

How many hours a day study were you doing once you got home?

Did you do the tower or enroute course, and how many months did it take?

Did you get much support in those times where something didn't click straight away?

How often did you have exams?

Thanks

AU Viper

We recently received our study timetable, tower was 40 weeks, whilst enroute was 49.

How much support depends on how much you ask for. So far I have found the instructors to be good and very helpful, but if you are struggling with something and they don't know, then they can't help. Communication is the key, communicate with your colleagues and with your instructors. this is also the feedback I have heard from other courses.

Essentially, people on courses will avail themselves to help you, often in general discussion, because we are all more interested in getting to the end and passing rather than causing others to drop out.

When you consider this position, it is not like you are competing for one job, essentially if they get you to the college they are hoping you will get through, but the effort is up to you. So far we are having approx 1 exam a week to give you some idea of the pressure you face. Sometimes these are straightforward, other times they can be a little tricky.

...and yes, you do have lots of light bulb moments along the way. All of a sudden something that really didn't make sense will be cavok.

AU Viper, EnglishCurryClub is pretty much right.

It depends on which part of the course you're in. The first 7-9 weeks is theory, and there is about an exam a week, and you'll be studying every night, to make sure you keep up with all the new information being thrown at you.

Once you get past the main theory block, the exams space out a little more, one every couple of weeks, but once you get in the sim, you'll have assessments there as well. Not as much study required once you start sim work, but you'll still be learning new phraseologies, new procedures, etc so you will still be studying. Plus I highly recommend doing extra sim runs with your coursemates if possible, gets you more comfortable with everything. Some people think doing runs without instructors is bad as you could learn bad habits, but your mates will (helpfully!) point out issues and you can all work on things together.

The vast majority of students at the college are more than willing to help, have a chat about things and share their experiences :) The instructors are very dedicated to getting people through, and helping you understand. As people have said, just tell them if you don't get something. They're not going to think you're stupid, they'll just find another way to teach it :)

Best of luck!

Hi All

A quick question re recruitment process.

For those of you who've succeeded recently, How difficult would you rate the online testing to be versus the day of testing in melbourne?

Which would you say is more difficult? the online testing or the day of testing in melb?

How many hours a day study were you doing once you got home?

Sometimes none, sometimes 2, sometimes 3 or 4. Id say about 1-2 on average though.

If at all possible, dont fall behind. For those without an aviation background the information comes thick and fast, and even for those with it, theres still lots to take in in a short period of time. Having said that you wouldnt be here if they didnt think you could do it.

Did you do the tower or enroute course, and how many months did it take?

Enroute, we were orignially told it was 44 weeks, it took nearly 60.

Did you get much support in those times where something didn't click straight away?

The majority of instructors are very good and will do their best to get you to understand something. For the practical modules we had 2 sometimes 3 instructors, each with their own way of doing it slightly, so if you couldnt get it from one way there was another. That being said, its like uni in that its upto you to seek extra help if you need it, you wont be spoonfeed.

Your coursemates will be a huge source of information. We all become good friends and supported each other.

How often did you have exams?

Well i did it a while ago when we did the majority of the theory at the start in a 16week block then the prac modules with only some theory in between. But exams are pretty constant. Dont worry you soon get used to contant examinations! Some people get nervous even near the end so dont worry if thats the case for you.


FormerlyKAs - the best advice i can give you is not to worry about it. Just do the best you can. You cant really study for it so i wouldnt worry.

Aaaahah!

Allow me to explain why:

I sat the online exam this time and I think I bombed epicly!

Previously, when recruiting procedures were different (as in no online test) I went to melbourne for the day of testing and I only failed one test by an absolute fraction.

So I was very surprised that I wont even be going to melbourne this time.

Thats why I was asking.

So can you Please answer the question as you see fit? :)

Hmm the testing proces has changed since i went through. Im not even sure its the same online test.

The "day" of testing has changed significantly as well.

In my case at least the day of testing wasnt exactly "more difficult" just longer and more concentrated. There was one test i thought i did very poorly in but i actually scored quite well. Sometimes its hard to tell.

How long are the training days at the Airservices Learning Academy?

Is it full time, 9-5, monday-friday?

The hours at the college are organised (at the moment) into two "shifts" to maximise the use of the simulator. When you start, the first couple of days are 9-5, corporate induction, etc, then you'll go to 7am - 2:12pm for the theory block, and maybe the start of your sim work. At some stage you'll swap over to 11am - 6:12pm, do a few weeks of that, back to morning, etc.

I say 12 minutes past the last hour, because that's how it works out pay wise, but in reality, you'll be scheduled to 2 most days, and 3 roughly once a week to make up the difference. It all works out in the end :)

Fatty, your location shows Brisbane, do you know if the hours are the same in Melbourne?

Fatty182 is in Melbourne, we're on the same course. (He's from Brisbane, sent to a Melbourne course instead of a Brisbane course, but that's another story).

Unsure of Brisbane course hours with there being fewer trainees competing for the simulator.

I'm in Brisbane, but when I got my offer, all the courses I was offered were in Melbourne. I know at least one of the guys on my assessment day got a Brisbane course. Don't expect that because you live in Brisbane, you'll get offered a course up here, you might get a course with a guarantee of being posted to Brisbane Centre, but you still might have to relocate for training.
It's one of the things you have to consider when you go for the job. If you're on a good wage now, are you going to be able to afford to relocate to Melbourne and pay rent for a year on the wage they're paying trainees?

Hi All- I had my Assessment day here in Sydney on March 7th. One of my references told me they were contacted this week by Air Services Australia. I have a few questions I hope someone can answer about that:

1) If your reference is contacted, is that usually a good sign that you are going to get an offer to start training in Melbourne/Brisbane?

2) If the answer is yes, how long after references are contacted does it usually take ASA to get in touch to inform you of course dates.

3) Were people given a choice of enroute or tower, or were they just told which stream they would be entered in to?

Many thanks!

J

1) If your reference is contacted, is that usually a good sign that you are going to get an offer to start training in Melbourne/Brisbane?

id say so, but its not a 100% gurantee

2) If the answer is yes, how long after references are contacted does it usually take ASA to get in touch to inform you of course dates.

I cant remember exactly, but it certainly wasnt straight away. At least a few weeks. Some were quick, some were long. Fact is, you will have to be paitent about the entire process, i applied in 09 and am only just finishing up final field now.

3) Were people given a choice of enroute or tower, or were they just told which stream they would be entered in to?

I was given a choice, however not everyone was.

I chose enroute becuase i wanted the security of knowing where ill be working for the next 30 years.

March assessment
 

Hi guys,
Just wondering if anyone who had an assessment day in March has heard anything either positive or negative yet? The waiting is killing me!

Fifi, if you had your assessment late in March, then you still have a couple of weeks to wait. It took 6 weeks before I heard anything.

Yeah still nothing here (march assessment). Not to concerned though, but it would be nice to know :P Im more worried about my references being contacted, that would be the first sign I would think as to whether its a good outcome. The longer it takes though the more the seed of doubt gets put in my mind.

Application still under review. Suppose thats better then unsuccessful at the moment :P

You won't hear anything until they have checked all the references for the people going into your group. One reference for one person can delay the whole process.

Good luck to the peeps undertaking interviews in Melbourne this week.

Has the Melbourne Assessment Day been scheduled? I haven't heard anything.

I was told I would do an assessment in May, and they would let me know 2-3 weeks beforehand.

Hey cadetkid,

Did you do your assessment day in Sydney or Melbourne? I had my assessment day on March 7th in Sydney and, one of my references was contacted but, that was a couple weeks ago and I haven't heard anything since.

Hey canuck, I did mine in brisbane late march, so a few weeks after you.

I was in the March 5th assessment centre in Syd and still no word since my referee was called two weeks ago. I logged into my application and it just says 'reference check complete'... no news is good news, so far... apparently!

Looked like they were doing interviews in Melbourne this week. Rang into a few staff that did them when I went for the roles.

I guess there will be another assessment in Melbourne in May, at least that was what I was told.

How do they advise you of the assessment day? By phone or by email? Anyone else waiting for a Melbourne Assessment in May? I did my phone interview in mid-March.

Same here Zilberfish. References contacted and my application status also says "reference check complete"

I hope we find out soon; this not knowing is torture!

They told us that it could take up to a few months to find out, is that what they told your group as well?

My group got told 2 weeks for references and 4 weeks until they contact you to tell you, but I knew it would be longer then that anyway. I dare say you guys probably arent far from hearing from them! Good luck

Thanks cadetkid, same to you. I'll be sure to update here as soon as I find out.

I wonder if the "reference check complete" thing is new. I didn't see that when I was waiting to hear. Maybe they got sick of people ringing them up for an update :)

You got that right.

I'll ask again, has anyone been told they are having their assessment day in May, and have you been notified of the date?

I'm worried I haven't heard anything yet. Going to be overseas for the next week as well. Are you notified by phone or email?

I was notified by email.

Initially I was going to be on an Assessment Day in May. But I got an email a few weeks ago asking me to attend the April one. They must have had someone drop out.

I was notified 11 days before my assessment day, by email. I then had to login and choose the day (Mon, Tues or Wed). You will probably hear something in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks Thequestor. That was really helpful. Hopefully you did well in your assessment.

I hope so too. It was a fun day and the 6 of us got along really well (had quite a few laughs).

If any of the guys who went to the Monday session are reading.....I have heard that the part where we get to carry each other out of the burning building is now completed in the main training component....certain participant excluded because he has a bad back.