NATS postings: any discretion over postings?
 

I've read a few posts on here stating that NATS ATCO trainees have zero choice over where they will be posted, except in exceptional (compassionate) circumstances.
So... realistically, what would be the likelihood of a 35yo female trainee being posted far from home if she had a 5 yr old child at school in the south and a pilot husband based at LGW? Might this be considered exceptional circumstances, or is it more likely to be grounds for rejection early on in the application process?
Any insight gratefully received.

You sign a contract saying you will work anyway, if you can not accept that do not sign it.

Nobody apart from the people dealing with postings know exactly how they decide on them, but there are no gaurantees. For example, as I've understood it, if Gatwick does not want/need a trainee you will not be posted there and that is the end of the story. You might be posted somewhere close (such as City or Heathrow) but you might also be posted to Aberdeen.

And this is all presuming you end up training for Aerodrome and not area, which is the same story again.

You get to hand in a preference, but there are no gaurantees.

You can make your case to the course manager at the college and he'll decide which stream to put you in ie aerodrome or area. The last basic course had a similar case and she got want she wanted so as long as you have a good case then they'll listen. As for postings after that, that is need dependant from the airfields themselves.

Thanks 1985, very helpful. Does this mean she requested Area (since I imagine that this results in less likelihood of being posted to the other end of the country - am I correct to assume that most following this path end up in either Swanwick or Prestwick?) We need to live within an hour of LGW, which means any of the southern bases would work, but not sure how we'd cope with, say, a posting to Aberdeen, especially as I know one controller who said it took him 10 years before he was able to switch to a new aerodrome!

Popgun87,
Going on Area doesn't mean Aberdeen is off the list.There are quite a few there who failed to validate at Swanwick,got a choice of Aberdeen or the chop.It has some low level enroute sectors for the offshore helis.
It will take a long time to get posted out of Aberdeen on the aerodrome side.
PS ABZ is an hour away from LGW,via Easyjet.

Assuming you're an above-average student (which I obviously would be - haha!) then how likely would an Aberdeen posting be? I realise nothing is guaranteed, but it would be nice to think that there is at least a 60% chance that I'd stay south of Manchester... I'm definitely applying in any case, and will cross such issues if and when they arise. Just trying to go into it with my eyes fully open.

And yes, aware of flight times, and certainly have nothing against Scotland (I'm from Edinburgh!) More about trying to minimise the time I'd be away from my children (flight time may only be one hour, but factor in getting to/from the airport, check-in etc and it becomes nearer 4 hrs).

Popgun 87,
It depends on where the needs are at the time.All I can say is ABZ is a bigger unit than you think,and has a permanent escape committee. So they need replacements like everywhere else.Nats postings have always been like my pprune name.Throwing a dice because even with requests it could be anywhwere.
Good luck.

I truly feel for the 5yr old......

Heathrow Director, I can assure you that my 5 year old (who won't stay 5 forever!) will always come first. Her dad is quite a senior pilot with a very good airline and is home a lot. The way I see it, a career in ATC is far more compatible with my husband's career (and family life in general) than my career prior to having children, which involved very long hours Mon-Fri, and invariably saw me leaving the house at 7am and not returning until very late.
I would certainly not choose to be posted too far from home, but at the same time, don't want to pass up the opportunity to do a job that I think I would be good at and enjoy (and one that will hopefully enable me to spend plenty of quality time with my kids while still managing to pay the school fees!)

Incidentally, we haven't ruled out the possibility of relocating the whole family and buying a small flat near Gatwick for my husband to stay in before early flights and on standby days...

Popgun87
 

You've seen some good advice already on previous replies. It sounds like you're beginning to answer your own questions as you go. Best advice I can give would be to concentrate on the application process and if successful, give everything to passing the relevant ATC course. Everything else will fall into place after that. I know it will be hard, but try not to let the family/relationship side distract you during the process. One step at a time!:)

Thanks Tak, and yes, you're absolutely right on all counts! Writing it down (and responding to HD's rather flippant remark!) has helped me sort things in my own head. Any advice on things I can do / read / say to help me get through the whole recruitment process (aside from practising my mental arithmetic and cube diagrams etc) very much appreciated!

You get a choice of posting but business demand comes first, having a kid or a husband doesn't count as compassionate grounds for a posting, it counts for nothing. To be honest, at 35 and with children, it's gonna be an uphill battle getting through selection and college so I would just concentrate on that, you can figure out locations if/when you reach that stage. Best of luck

Don't make the mistake of assuming that Aberdeen is a sleepy hollow or an easy posting. From my limited experience I would say that their radar sectors are amongst the most complicated in the UK.

That remark was simply meant as an innocent (if slightly tongue-in-cheek) follow-up to Throw a Dyce's comment about people who failed to validate at Swanwick being offered "Aberdeen or the chop" and I certainly didn't mean to offend anyone who has been posted there!

Not a problem, just correcting the stereotype :ok:

Also, check your PMs

Statistically speaking, if you get on an Area course you will more than likely (70%?) get posted to Swanwick (either AC or TC).

If you get Airports/Approach, you still stand a good chance of being posted to somewhere in the South but less so than an Area student.

Unfortunately....also statistically.....not many 35 year old ab initio's make it. But don't let that put you off, it's not impossible.

Is there really any call for that?

Popgun87, back when my course were to receive postings, we were asked to give our preference. Two people specifically requested Prestwick due to having family and children up there, one person requested Manchester, one requested Belfast and a few requested London airports.

The person who requested Belfast was posted to Heathrow tower. One of those who requested a London airport was sent to Belfast. The two who requested Prestwick were posted to West Drayton and the person who requested Manchester was sent to Swanwick. The postings to Manchester and Prestwick came from the pool of people who had requested West Drayton or Swanwick.

On the face of it, it doesn't make any sense whatsoever but it must have made sense to someone.

As a previous poster has mentioned, given your age and circumstances, training and validating will be an uphill struggle with a very high chance of failure. You will need to go in with an open mind as to where you are posted because, ultimately, an undesirable posting could be a blessing in disguise when it comes to validating successfully.

Good luck :)

One of my watch supervisors had a saying:-
'One volunteer is worth 1000 pressed men'.
Sadly HR/personnel do not seem to understand this common sense approach.
When I was in Scotland, I met a u/t who wanted to work at Swanwick. He told me about his course-mate, from Ayr who was sent, against his wishes, to the south coast.

It's not rocket-science.

Please don't think I'm being flippant with what I'm about to say. It's meant as advice.

NATS today is a big business. The majority of big businesses in the UK generally couldn't give a t*ss about their employees preferences and happiness.