NATS ATCO Application Length
 

Hello

I will be submitting my application tomorrow, but depart on a gap year to the States in August.

Do i have any chance of going through the process between now and August? or am i cutting things fine?

Cheers
James

James,

Probably yes. I applied 2nd February 2006, and have my initial assesments on the 31st of this month. If successful I think interviews are 3-4 weeks after getting the results of the first stage, security clearance probably shortly after that.


Kirk

James,

I have almost completed the process. I put in my application on 22nd January, sat the first tests on 14th February and found out the results eight working days later. After that, if you're successful, you have to attend the final assessment within three weeks so i sat mine on 14th of this month (Tuesday) and then found out I'd been successful on Friday! Still waiting on a formal offer, medical and security clearance but in essence it's taken me two months to go through the process.

I would have thought if all goes well you should be able to get through before you go away; but then if did - would you really want to go away?!

Hope this helps, Rob.

HR might question your commitment if you told them at an interview you planned to go away fora year following selection. they do defer courses starts but might frown on a year.

Re: Application length
 

I would have to be honest with them at the interview as i secured my job in Orlando over 15 months ago, so it has all been finalised for a long while.

J.

Why apply now? Why not apply in a year when you get back?:confused:

well..i am in a bit of a sticky situation..

I have a confirmed place at Uni, to start 5 weeks after i return from the states. So ideally i need to know before i depart in August what im doing.

If it doesnt work out with NATS i will come straight back and go to Uni. If it does work out i am more than happy to dump my uni plans because, to be honest, i could do without the debt uni will incur.

Hope all of that makes sense! It's either apply now, or apply in 3 years after uni, at which point, if i get through, i have got a degree i dont really need!

Life...throws up some problems doesn't it!!

J.

Well why not start uni whilst applying for NATS? If your successful then ditch uni, if not continue with uni.

The whole new Uni fee's system would unfortunately mean that if i dropped out half way through the year i would recieve a bill in the region of £2000 pounds, it's also to do with my families finances, its not an option.

Why didnt i apply earlier!!!!!!

if you completed the selection process and got selected would you really take the year out. if not you can always say at the interview you would appreciate a quick decision because of GAP year and university places. if you find out you got accepted then cancel the year out and scrap university.

or you could say that you have a year out planned before university but if you were selected then you would return early from your GAP year and take up the position.

Another alterntive is to delay starting your time in the states until you hear from NATS.

Is deferring for a year not valid for those already in University. I would quite like to get the process started, so that I have the wheels in motion before my current exam results. I only have my final year to go now!

At the moment, NATS just needs suitable applicants. They aren't going to offer a trainee a position and then change their minds because they can't start immediately. Graduation next year or year out, it don't matter. Apply now and be honest about your circumstances, but not too honest about the presence of any alternative plans. NATS wants commitment rather than "s'pose it'll do for now" from it's trainees. They do, after all, spend a whole bucket of cash on them.
Better to find out now whether you have the ability to train as an ATCO rather than have your plans buggered up after a year of anticipation. Best of all, if you fail selection this year, you can re-apply next year. if you wait, you'll waste another year kicking your heels waiting for your second go.

America isn't all it's cracked up to be anyway. Bournemouth is much nicer:ok:

It doesn't matter if you apply now or later, i did my intital tests back in november and found out 10 days later i'd passed. You don't have to sit the final interview within 3 weeks of passing the first round. My final interview is next week and this was my choice. If successful im not going to be available to start at the college until january 2007 as im in my final year at uni at the moment and having got this far i am not going to quit. I explained all this to HR and they were perfectly ok with it. So your best bet is to just be honest and explain your situation.

Cheers!
 

Just want to say a big thanks to you all for the kind replies and advice.

My situation has been worrying me, and your replies have put me at ease!

Much appriciated. Thanks guys! :)

J.

Sent!
 

Application form sent!

How long has it been before people have heard if they have been selected for interview or not?

J.

To give you an idea, my timeline was as follows:

12/12/2005 - Application submitted
19/12/2005 - Notification that my application would be delayed due to verification of my eyesight results
20/12/2005 - Invitation to take the online numerical tests
30/12/2005 - Invitation to attend the initial selection day
24/01/2006 - Initial selection day
27/03/2006 - Final Interview day

Now please bear in mind that there are several factors that delayed this; If you dont wear glasses then you wont get delayed by them having to verify your eyesight. Also, I was a little slow with all this - if you take to online test immediately and select the earliest possible dates you could get through even faster then this. Bear in mind that I left a fair amount of time between my interview days to allow for time to prepare and study.

And by the way, good luck!! :ok:

James,

See your PMs

Selection Tests
 

Just had a message saying i've been invited for selection tests. Very prompt reply from NATS in just 18 hours.

Any reason i have not been asked to take the online numerical test?

J.

James,
because there isn't one, i'm just goin thro the process goin for interview on thursday and when i did the init selection i didnt have to it.

Regards