Don’t stand so close to me...
 

...as a certain Mr Sting use to sing.

On hearing the very sad news that a major ANSP has terminated a lot of training contracts, I got to thinking how U.K ANSP are doing OJTI. I imagine the two Centres, and newer towers like Edinburgh and Farnborough will have enough space to provide social distancing measures and although it has been some time since I visited them how are the “legacy” ( old ) towers coping? I remember that the Approach Radar room at the likes of Exeter, Glasgow and Aberdeen were limited for space.
Are OJTI’s wearing PPE?
Is the social distancing in Scotland 1m or 2m?

Rgds

AyrTC

Some VCRs might have the space, but you also need the equipment (i.e. another ATM etc) to be able to use that space.

You need to be pretty close to your trainee to see what they’re doing .. a metre on a headset lead is achievable but there’s no other protection. Also not much distance between controller and assistant due to desk design etc

Very long headset leads at Farnborough, you can stand/sit at least 6.56 ft away from your trainee.

You need to be able to see all the tools in AC so you can't get 2m away because you can't see them properly. You also need to be able to access them just in case.

Apparently a health and safety assessment has been done saying its OK but haven't seen it or been shown the justification. We can't sit next to each other in t & p as it's too close (1.5m) but can be closer ojtiing...

Speculation, no clue to what is actually happening.
The training issue is a very muddled situation. NERL, has done a safety assessment which allows training to take place. NSL, are looking into controllers wearing PPE!!! One fudge and One possible over reaction. That about sums up the situation, and actually NATS in general at this present time.

There seems to be a very wide range of practices in place. I’ve heard of masks/screens/temps taken and the lot in some places ranging to a bottle of cleaning fluid and hope for the best in others.

it’s simply not possible where I am to properly distance from each other and certainly not from a trainee

Some are finding a way to manage the problem. There has to be a way, the world can't stop turning.

Pleased to see that things at Cambridge are going well, but unfortunately at many UK airports right now the traffic levels are just too low to justify any meaningful training (apart from simulator sessions).

I take your point, but, once the Covid/PPE work around is resolved, the difficulty becomes how long to wait until the traffic starts to climb again, if it ever does? Is this the start of a steady recovery, or are we bouncing along the bottom of a very long trench? There's no easy answers, I know, but if we're still here in 12 months, with the retirement wave imminent, someone has to make the call that this is actually the new traffic, & adapt to suit....& we'll be 12 months behind the curve already...

Er, I understood it was the other way around?!