Where are all these ATCOs going? There aren't that many jobs out there.

Mike, moving on (NCL opens lots of places) and retirement..... Why?? I can only guess we go back to the appointment of the present SATCO/MATC??

NATS are encouraging VRs leaving them short of staff; my theory is it's the beancounters who think getting rid of an experienced controller at the top of the salary scale and replacing them with someone lower down and less experienced is a good idea. Well on paper it might look good, but they forget that once someone completes (say) Area Radar training at the college, they still won't be able to control 'real' trafficon their own for about a year due to the time it takes to complete OJT at an operational unt.
There are jobs out there but both RAF and civil ATC units are short of radar controllers at the moment and however many they train there are inevitably some failures during training. There is of course the privately operated college at Staverton but you have to pay for instruction there and it's not cheap..

Sorry I don't think my post was very clear.

What I meant was:
It's been mentioned 8 ATCOs have or are in the process of leaving Newcastle.
Nats train their own cadets. So do ANS. (A few exceptions for Gatwick).
That leaves only a few places like Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham among the "larger" airports.

I have friends at many UK airports and I haven't heard of many ex-Newcastle new colleagues.

I am just curious where are 8 ATCOs with previous experience might be going, unless it's smaller units (and possibly a pay cut) or leaving the UK.

There's a 'word of mouth' trawl (I've seen nothing on paper) for Manston; possible start date early 2022 and the middle east (eg Abu Dhabi) seems to have a high turnover.

All applicants please form an orderly queue...

Maybe they've seen the error of their ways.

Last one I heard of from Farnborough was in about 2013/2014.
He was a friend of mine, at the top of the Band 2 scale, 55 years old and quite happy to stay until he reached 60, but he said 'NATS made him an offer he couldn't refuse' which I presume meant monetarily, so he was going at the end of that year.

mike current wrote:
They are not "cadets" - and at the moment, for aerodrome and approach radar units, no they don't!

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Semantics.
TATC's, trainees, students. Whatever you want to call it. I was one of them.

What do you mean they don't?
The training might be outsourced but they're still Nats trainees.

Both of you missed my point completely. My post #91 was about jobs and recruitment. Someone mentioned 8 ATCOs leaving Newcastle and I was wondering what jobs might be available in the UK given that Nats and ANS run their own direct recruitment, and that would rule out a lot of units to apply for.

That was all. I don't recall at any point questioning the quality, format or location of training.

HIAL still has an open advert
 

Not missing the point at all - point duly taken! Merely commenting on some of the detail - semantics by all means if you wish. Not sure what the gist of Packer27L's point is about Nats instructors, "Nats" defensive techniques and business practices - they have quite enough to do on the (approved) BTC, ADI and APS courses, one after the other!

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