NATS Postings
 

Hey guys

Im unsure if this is the correct place for this, as I cannot find any reference to it, but here goes.

Obviously NATS need people who can work anywhere in the country, however, does anyone have any experience of chossing where they actually work after college? Do you ''normally'' get where you ask for?

A little vague I know

Any help would be appreciated

Chris

Are you trying to get Stansted by using subliminal stimuli? Good luck with that one!

Nopes, im based in glasgow... so would like to be based in prestwick!! :)

I suspect that if you get into NATS and are successful you may have to set your sights further afield... perhaps south a few hundred miles!

Good luck.

Short answer... you can ask but you will not get.

If you want to work at the Prestwick Centre you will have to be chosen for the Area Course; you would have quite a good chance of this. You do get to specify a preference for posting at the end of college training; now that the manchester Centre has relocated to Prestwick you have a reasonable chance of getting a posting to Scottish.

Try volunteering for LXGB and you'll stand a good chance. They have a few wrinklies going out to pasture soon. :E

Having been at the college, they will ask "your preference" but you will be sent wherever the need arises... That may mean "I'd like a London Airport please". "Certainly sir, here's a posting to Aberdeen."

Having been through the college on aerodrome/approach you get to choose your 3 preferences for dual rated towers.
Having not been on the area course I couldn't say but I would imagine you would be asked which you would prefer, though they stopped that during my time there before the MACC move to Prestwick.

Hey thanks for the reply's guys.

As i Understand it, you simply apply to be an ATCO, but then they will determine if you fo approach, area etc. Is that correct?
What is the college like? Ive passed the online application, got to go to stage 1 in November. All my family are in Glasgow, which is the only real thing putting me off, as knowing my luck I will end up in London......

That's it, you apply and if/when you are successful you will get a provisional start date then closer to the time you will ask for a preference to do aerodrome or area (to do the approach course you get the tower licence first) It is normally done on a which course needs people rather than your skills. I got aerodrome after putting it as my preference, but I know lots of people who didn't get what they wanted (similar to postings in that case)
I won't lie to you, college can be tough and is fairly hard work. I went to uni before so found the workload less than what I did, but others found it a lot more than they were used to. I wouldn't say what you are taught is complex, just a lot of it in a short space of time with very little error for margin.
If you chose the area course you would have a better chance of getting prestwick, which isn't too far from Glasgow. I seem to remember signing a mobility clause on my first stage and ultimately you will be sent where numbers are needed and where you are best suited.
All the best for your stage one :-)

Hey thanks for the info. Im doing an honours degree at the min and in year 4, so im not un accustomed to studying. Like I said the only major thing putting me off is going to London... that would suck. I may as well go to the stages and see what happens. IS there any reason why Area's are 11 months in training compared to the 6 months of aero's?

They stream the less talented to area so it takes them longer to get through the course work.

:ok: to Roffa, well said

on a serious note though, Area is made up of 3 courses (Basic, Foundation and Advanced) you need to pass all three of those. Each are made up of written tests, verbal assessments and practical exercises. The aerodrome course is just the individual course, normally only takes about 4-5 months with another 3 for approach on top of it. I wouldn't be worried about being in London, unless you are at London City the others aren't too close to the centre. Though anything south coast for you wouldn't be ideal, with the distance. On a plus side when you are valid you get paid enough to fly home on your days off if that is what you want :-)

If you're letting a little thing like the distance between London and Scotland get in the way of your ambition I'd question how committed you are.

Last time I looked, there were these things called, now let me see, oh, yes, p-l-a-n-e-s, that went between the two in less than two days. I would imagine things have even improved since then.......:mad:

You might, just might, get away with a request on compassionate grounds, eg if you have a sick relly up north, but if by doing so you were to block a genuine and more serious similar request from someone else you wouldn't be Mr. Popular....

@ minesthechevy

Whats your problem ars*****? I only asked a reasonable question, no need to be sarcastic. Thanks for the other replys, including about the less talented people:p

Out of intrest, if you don't mind me stealing the thread a bit mrgarabaldi :O

I hear that it is not impossible to change your workplaces later in your career, how does this work? Does NATS recruit internally ("we have a vacancie at Cardiff, is anyone intrested") or do you apply yourself (phone the manager up and ask if they need new people) or do you switch with someone else (say that I got Glasgow and mrgarabaldi got Stansted, can we then talk to our managers and if they are up for it, change positions)?

I'm just curious how it works since it's one of the internal things you don't know much about, but it could have a large impact later on (if I get through all the three stages and validation that is :ooh:)

It's possible, but don't plan your life around a move in the future.

After you finish at the college, you'll do unit specific validation training. For example at Heathrow it's another year or more before you are valid. If at some point you move to another airport, say, Southampton, you'd still need to do Southampton's validation training. All the while you are being paid a lot of money (far more than someone straight out of college) and are effectively 'useless;' in the fact that you are not earning the company money during your training. Also, your post at Heathrow is now vacant, and would have to be filled by another trainee, who would take more than a year to train and might not actually succeed anyway.

Don't get me wrong, it does happen, but it's more liklely to happen if the move is seen as a career progression/promotion to a higher grade. I earn a high salary at Heathrow, and I doubt many smaller unit managers would like to have me on their budget!

OK, mrgarabaldi - an apology from me for having failed, miserably it seems, to have conveyed the humour that was intended in my reply. Seems I took the biscuit.

However, a word to the wise - there was a serious message underneath the joking. Try and put an impartial balance into your decision to see relations/friends and your desire to get a start - any start - in your chosen career. I don't know anything about you, so only you are qualified to find that point of balance....

Another word of advice - you might have assumed, accurately, that I am now retired - but never assume that a retiree isn't still able to whisper into the ears of people who matter. As it happens, I'm not, and wouldn't - but you weren't to know that when you responded.

Good luck controlling that temper.....

1 . I do not have a temper, I simply dislike people talking down to me in the manner in which your post was written...

2. Your actually having a laugh? Your threatening to ''tell '' on me??? really??

Lol