Queenslander in Melbourne
 

If anyone is starting enroute course 114 next week, is in Melbourne, and wants to catch up before we start, feel free to send me a message/email. Thanks.

I have received letter of offer, completed the medical check and sent off my security check. I'm just waiting for the 4th April to roll around to start.

If the Nov course is Enroute 114, and the Jan course is Enroute 116 - what's happened to Enroute 115? :confused:

enroute courses are always even numbers and tower courses are odd numbers. 115 will probably be the tower course starting the same day as enroute 114

Have a phone interview coming up next week, anyone have any tips?

Hi WhisprSYD,

The tower and en route courses don't really line up now - maybe they used to? I believe the next tower course is # 89 with a Feb start. So goodness knows where # 114 is...

Cheers,

Testing
 

Hi all,

I completed my online testing on the 2nd Oct and still haven't heard anything. I felt it went quite well. No invite for OPQ or unsuccessful email. My online status is still "Online testing completed".

Has anyone failed the online testing recently? How long did it take to hear? Please PM me.

Thanks!

Testing
 

Hi all

I completed my online testing on 2nd November and haven't received an invitation for OPQ or an email advising I was unsuccessful. I felt the testing went quite well...

I have looked back on previous posts' timelines and it hasn't usually taken this long to hear back?

Has anyone failed the online testing - how long did it take you to hear? PM me.

Thanks!

Hi Smoothsailing,

I am in the same situation as you - completed my online testing on 3rd Nov (for deadline 4th, same as yours I presume?). Still says "Online Testing Complete", still haven't heard anything back and I also felt the tests went reasonably well. I think there is quite a lot of variation in how long it takes ATC to get back to you. Some people in past years have reported taking up to two weeks, but I guess it could be even more.
I am also under the impression they might be doing things alphabetically. I put my original application in on 1st July and only got the email for online testing on 28th Oct - long after some others who submitted later. Since they are doing things in batches, I guess having a surname beginning with "W" doesn't' help. If you don't mind me asking, what letter does your surname start with?
Anyway all the best, suppose we just have to wait and see...

Hi smoothsailing
It may feel a long time for you, however it hasn't been that long!

As you will see from the forum - no news is good news. Everyone is processed in batches, so each group of applications will be different timelines.

I applied in December 2014, I passed assessment day in June 2015, reference checks complete and am waiting on the call for an offer.

You learn to be patient with it - it's a long process as they describe!

Good luck with the next stage

Just had my phone interview on the 20th of this month, my application page shows "on hold for upcoming assessment centre" does this mean I have passed the telephone interview? I have yet to receive an email from Airservices telling me if I passed or not.

Tried looking back through this thread for answers but couldn't find anything. Thank you everyone!

Nevermind I literally just got an acceptance email 30 seconds after posting

April 2016 intake
 

Hi
Just seeing who is on the April 2016 course for Melbourne?

Would be great to touch base with those on the same course.

Look forward to hearing from those who have been assigned to April 2016.

Cheers

Hi atcapplicant16,

I'm on the Melbourne course for 2016. I'd love to start talking to people before the course starts so that we already know some people and make it easier on ourselves

Have received a verbal offer for the Brisbane ENR course in April 2016. Pretty happy about that! :)

My original application was way back in August 2014 with an assessment day in March 2015 so to those waiting, hang in there if you can.

I will have to take online test soon. What kindly let me know how was it and what are do and don't please.

I do appreciate it.

Phone interview
 

Hi williamsbe,

Had my phone interview the other day. Afterwards I checked my online status and it says "On hold for upcoming Assessment Centre". Is this the same for you? I am wondering if it is a generic status after phone interview or whether I should interpret it literally!

All the best.

Got an email a few days ago saying my application has been unsuccessful. Wasn't even offered the chance to do the online testing. I can only assume my trade qualification does not meet the minimum requirement. Can anyone confirm this?

AC
 

On hold for upcoming assessment centre is good news in my experience, I received an email shortly after advising to book a day for the AC.

Is there anyone on the forum here who also attended the AC on 26th Nov in Brisbane? Met some really great people, best of luck to you all and hope to see you again somewhere down the road. :)

Smoothsailing - that generally means you passed your phone interview and the next step will be getting notification to attend an assessment centre day. Give it a few weeks for the email advising you to come through.

Hi Smoothsailing,

I had my phone interview a few days ago as well, and subsequently had exactly the same status as yourself (on-hold for upcoming assessment centre). From what I understand it is a positive sign, although it's always good to receive the formal email to be sure. I was told on on the phone that there won't be any assessment centre days until March, but we should hear back before they shut down for Christmas.

Fingers crossed!

Timetable
 

Well I'm glad I found this thread. Was starting to loose my marbles with the wait time :sad: but it appears its normal.

My current schedule is:
14/03/15 - Application Submitted
17/05/15 - Online Test
22/05/15 - Online Occupational Personality Quiz
01/07/15 - Phone Interview
24/08/15 - Received Assessment Centre Invite
07/10/15 - Assessment Centre
22/10/15 - Received Reference Check Advisory

Still sitting around waiting but its good to see that its normal for 2 months for reference check... with Christmas break wont expect to hear anything until probably feb...

Anyone else who attended the assessment day in Brisbane on the 7th on this forum?

Well I'm glad I found this thread. Was starting to lose my marbles with the wait time but it appears it's normal.

My current schedule is:
14/03/15 - Application Submitted
17/05/15 - Online Test
22/05/15 - Online Occupational Personality Quiz
01/07/15 - Phone Interview
24/08/15 - Received Assessment Centre Invite
07/10/15 - Assessment Centre
22/10/15 - Received Reference Check Advisory

Still sitting around waiting but it's good to see that it's normal for 2 months for reference check... with Christmas break won't expect to hear anything until probably February.

Anyone else who attended the assessment day in Brisbane on the 7th on this forum?

This isn't aimed at vira as these types of errors appear in many posts. Start working on your grammar, spelling and punctuation now. When you finish the course and get rated, it won't be long before you will be writing reports, most likely ESIRs. These reports will go to a number of people, Airservices Safety, CASA, ATSB and the airline safety personnel. Small errors can change the meaning of a paragraph.

24/08/15 - Received Assessment Centre Invitation.

Got to maintain the standards! Nyuk, nyuk.

Hello Fujii,

Thank you for pointing out the hilarious spelling error :D. It gave me a good laugh!:O
Yes we all have slip-ups from time to time. Who honestly hasn’t accidentally hit two 0’s when typing lose.

I find the comment’s quite funny though. Please remember that this is a forum not a 200 page thesis, 60 page monthly safety report, Operations Manual, Procedures Manual, Safety Manual or any number of documents that I have provided CASA, ATSB and/or Airline safety personnel.

Yes, I am already in the aviation industry :oh:.

Although you hold a very valid comment regarding grammar, spelling and punctuation :ok:, especially in important documents, you need to remember that you would always re-read the document to ensure its accuracy. I believe this is called proofreading a document :eek:.

If you get to the stage of proofreading a post on a forum, you really need to consider two things.

1) You are taking the forum way to literally.
2) You really need to find something better to do with your time.

As for my previous post, short hand was used intentionally. This includes but is not limited to Feb and Invite. I guess my point is that appropriateness needs to be considered not just in regards to future work where proofreading is imperative, but also when singling out people (even though trying to cover it with a generalisation) who have obviously and intentionally used short hand on an appropriate media forum.

And no I’m not going to proofread this post. I have better things to do with my time :}

You really need to find something better to do with your time.


I did forty two years in ATC. Just passing along a little of what I learned. All the best for your career.

:ok::ok::ok:

Hi guys,
Would anybody have any information on the next possible recruitment of ATC's? I've been thinking of making the move into ATC for a while now and have recently decided to give it a crack.

I have attempted the practice assessments in the link below and find I'm scoring around 70 for each. I'm wondering if this is a pretty common score for someone to get (especially someone that has made it past the online assessments)? I saw this question asked a few pages back but didn't really see any informative replies. Does anybody have any information as to the benchmark ASA has on their ATC's recruits?

https://www.cebglobal.com/shldirect/en/practice-tests/

Cheers,
LukeyBoy

Sorry couldn't get into the tests for free so couldn't run through one for you.

Did have a quick look at the examples and there are some good benchmarks there for you, particularly in regards to the style of testing… or so I feel anyway.

Unfortunately the way the assessment centre is done, it really is a “you either have it or you don’t” scenario. I found that no matter how much I tried to practice, it really boiled down to your personal ability to adapt and communicate rather then pure numerical, logic or verbal reasoning.

Best thing to do mate is just have a crack! If you pass the initial online testing you are in good standing with the assessment day.

The figures I was provided were, 3000 applicants each year apply only 500 make it to assessment day and only 100 through to training. I know those figures look bad but if you make it to the assessment day just relax, enjoy and I hope you achieve. :ok:

^interesting stats. any idea what the training failure rate is?

i would imagine since there is a great investment in the training, that there would be significant support at the learning academy.

Historically the overall success rate is around 50%. Around 1/3 are lost at the academy (failure and withdrawal), with the remainder failing the field sim or failing on-the-job training. There is a great investment in training but an even greater emphasis on meeting the standards required.

For better or worse the selection process is an imprecise science and it's hard to tell who can pull it all together at the end.

It would be interesting to see the pass/fail stats after the change of selection methodology ~5 years ago to see if there is any improvement.

Well, I had my 20-minute phone interview today. I tend to perform quite poorly when it comes to answering interview questions, but I think it went alright. Guess we'll soon see! I've really enjoyed the process so far, particularly since this is all entirely new to me.

While the next stage would involve a flight from Perth to Melbourne, I'm praying I get through to the assessment centre - it sounds like an incredible experience. Fingers crossed!

Course Offer
 

So incredibly happy to say I received an offer today for Melbourne En Route Course in September!

A massive thanks to everyone on this forum who has offered their experience and advice to help others out, reading the information on this forum has kept me sane during the wait. Would love to hear from anyone starting a course at the same time, especially if you'll also be looking for housemates when the course starts! In the hope it will help those going through the process to manage expectations and stay positive, here is the timeline for my application:

Application submitted: 3rd September
Invitation to online testing: 8th September
OPQ Invitation: 16th September
Invitation to book telephone interview: 10th October
Phone interview complete: 22nd October
Assessment Centre invite: 25th October
Assessment Centre complete: 26th November
Reference check advisory: 4th December
Reference check complete: Early January (not sure of date)
Verbal offer: 3rd February

Phone Interview
 

Congrats KS92, good job so far, and also to iinii for making the cut! :ok:

Here my experience of the phone interview:

Was called by a HR person, who gave a brief intro to the structure of the interview.
This was followed by 2 questions regarding the ATC role.
Then I had 3 behavioural style questions, where I had to draw on examples from past experiences.
The questions were fair and relevant, and you have the opportunity to promote yourself. Make the most of it!
For anyone preparing, I would suggest focusing on what you believe to be core aspects of the job.
Be practical in answering questions, and be SPECIFIC with your examples. Do not rely on vague descriptions or generalisations in your responses (which I am a little guilty of).
Also, don't bulls**t, as HR will smell it through the phone.
My interview went for about 28 min, but that was due to me rambling on a fair bit. I suggest NOT to do this, but keep to the point and get the message across. KISS.
If any further elaboration is required, HR will ask you for it.
If you stick to 2-3min answers the interview will be over in 20 min.

After the q&a session, the interviewer gave me a brief rundown of what happens next. Result of phone interview are to be notified via email in a week. I was also advised that not many make it to the assessment centre, and even fewer beyond. I'll take that as a subtle hint, and await my results with a dose of healthy pessimism.

You then have a quick minute or two to ask questions of your own (such as "Did I pass?").

This stage of the recruitment process is certainly one you CAN fail at, and therefore demands attention, in my view. However, with decent prep work the likelihood of stuffing it up completely is reduced, because you can target the areas being addressed.

DISCLAIMER: I'm no HR professional or interview expert, nor do I purport to know what ASA is looking for. These are simply my observations of the interview I had, and my personal opinions based on past experiences. I hope they will be useful to others.

Good luck everyone!

Cheers, Aipgen!

Yeah, I can basically echo my experience through what you've just detailed. Thankfully, I received an email this morning asking me to confirm a booking for one of the assessment days in Melbourne! So stoked.

Let me know how you go - I'll have my fingers crossed for you!

Course Offer July 2016
 

Afternoon All,

After approximately a year wait, I have recently received verbal confirmation of my acceptance for the July ENR intake in Melbourne.

PM me if you are also starting the same course and are interested in some sort of house share arrangement with fellow students!

Also a quick thanks to all of you for providing me with information on how long the process takes and the patience required when applying for ATC.

Cheers.

Congratulations!
 

Hello,
Congratulations, to all successful candidates. :D All of U have done great job and are about to enter the amazing world of vectoring and endless separating... Good luck with it.:ok:

Any successful international candidate here?? If any, please PM, have some thoughts, and themes to talk about....

I was interested to see this bit which has slipped in there this time (or maybe it did get added previously and I didn't see):

Could be a way of limiting the age of applicants without putting a strict age limit on it? I guess you can always complete your PPL at any age, but the ten year limit on high school/university would limit a lot of people.

Applied - 22 February 2016.

My hat it is officially thrown in the ring...

I live in Melb and through a friend of a friend I was able to visit the ATC enroute control room a couple of weeks ago... was given the opportunity to 'plug in' and hear the live conversations with pilots. It was mid-morning (not early rush), nice weather in what seemed a fairly quiet sector...

I know that I can do the job but whether I can get through the selection process is my greatest hurdle.