|
Originally Posted by RussLee
(Post 10374523)
Hey Darren, how did your Stage 3 go?
How was yours? |
Originally Posted by DarrenG42
(Post 10374714)
Thought it went really well but still havnt heard anything. Checking my email hourly haha
How was yours? |
Does anyone know how long it takes to hear back for the stage 2 DART results? I've noticed some peeps hear immediately and others a bit longer
|
Originally Posted by arch2infinity
(Post 10375266)
Does anyone know how long it takes to hear back for the stage 2 DART results? I've noticed some peeps hear immediately and others a bit longer
|
Originally Posted by RussLee
(Post 10375344)
I heard back first thing the day after via email. But I'm guessing it depends on how busy they are etc. Just keep an eye on your junk folder as well 😉
I suppose the question for me now is about reapplying. The examiner mentioned something about a new system in April that may allow us to apply fresh but I didn’t really processed what was being said. Does anyone know about this? |
Originally Posted by arch2infinity
(Post 10375380)
Just heard back that I didn’t pass the DART. The mistakes I made were 100% unavoidable and this is gonna haunt me for months. I got too cocky instead of guiding the craft safely to the gate destinations. Pride before the fall folks... pride before the fall. I suppose the question for me now is about reapplying. The examiner mentioned something about a new system in April that may allow us to apply fresh but I didn’t really processed what was being said. Does anyone know about this? |
Originally Posted by RussLee
(Post 10374730)
I don't have mine until 13th Feb. Fingers crossed for you!! How was the day structured? Are you able to offer any advice? 😁
They explain each stage thoroughly beforehand as well. |
Originally Posted by DarrenG42
(Post 10375607)
Can't really say too much I'm afraid. Practice your interview questions, Google what type of questions they'll be asking. Also practice your answers using the Star interview method.
They explain each stage thoroughly beforehand as well. |
Originally Posted by RussLee
(Post 10375615)
OK that's fair enough. Thanks for the tips. Was you there all day?
|
Originally Posted by DarrenG42
(Post 10375619)
No a couple of days before you should get an email letting you know your slot, I was just there in the morning.
|
I've just been moved on to the course at Global starting in March! Is there anyone else on here who is on that course - are there any whatsapp groups or facebook groups? As I've only just been moved over I'm starting to get worried about trying to find a house within a month! Anyone else look to share a house with someone?
|
Originally Posted by Niki86
(Post 10361699)
I will have mine in the first week of March. That doesn't leave much time to find a place to live in Whiteley area.
And I don't really want to quit my current job until I get the medical clearance, just in case... I hope that everything works out. I would strongly recommend getting as close as you can to CTC, it makes life a lot easier not getting stuck in traffic everyday both ways. If you can walk in to college then the stress of travel is eliminated. |
Good afternoon,
I've just passed Stage 1 and been invited down for Stage 2. I stay in Scotland and have a young family. All very much 'ifs and buts' but can someone please advise how things would pan out should I eventually be successful and gain a place on the course? Is it very intense at college five days a week or would there be opportunities to return home at weekends? I know this is very unlikely but do circumstances come into the equation at all when being allocated tower/approach/area and your destination? Thanks in advance |
NATSjock,
It was a long time ago, but each weekday night required 3-4 hours of post-college evening homework. Saturday was my 'day off', but the whole of Sunday was spent 'on the books'. If you can share digs with fellow students, it's a great help. You can discuss stuff/scenarios etc. |
The course is very intense and generally if you are from Scotland you will find it time consuming and expensive to get home. You really do have to put in a lot of extra hours of study outside the college times. This next bit is a copy and paste from Flying184 from the 27th of January. I think the info is more or less correct. “The additional training venues are to increase training capacity given the level of demand across the UK and the reduction in training facilities at CTC that happened a few years ago. The Union are also keen for training to be brought back totally in house. - Do you get to submit a preference for which training location you would like or is it completely random? If successful, you are a student and you get sent where there is a training space. You do not get a choice over Aerodrome/Approach/Area. That said, I believe you can opt out of the Spain option given that it is overseas. - Is the full 6-9 months of college based training delivered at Global/Jerez, or just the 2 month basic course? Global: 3 months Baisc, 3 Months ADI and/or 3.5 months APS as I understand it. This does not take into account breaks between courses. Spain: European basic course (4 months) and then back to the UK to do ratings at CTC as I understand it although stand to be corrected! There were rumours on here they were starting to deliver Area training at Jerez too but I am not sure. - Do students at these locations all go down the aerodrome/approach route or do they also deliver area training? Global do not deliver UK Area ratings and so if you went to Global you would do ADI/APS ratings. This does not mean you would go to an airport though.... there are plenty of APS only units such as Aberdeen Offshore, Aberporth Ranges, and of course a very big APS group at Swanwick providing approach radar for the main London airports. I believe there is currently a group at Global who have done Basic and APS and are destined for Swanwick approaches. I often read stories on here of people thinking "oh it'll never happen to me" to then find out they are off to Bonnie Scotland to do Aberdeen Offshore (which is a very interesting operation let it be said!) Hope this helps. I cannot stress this enough..... you really need to understand and accept that if successful NATS will place you where THEY need you. This includes both training space and posting should you complete the course. E.g. Aberdeen is a very realistic posting, as is Belfast, Glasgow, Aberporth Ranges, Swanwick etc..... regardless of whether you have family in the south of the UK, children at school etc. If this is something you are not happy with, then I would really suggest another route into ATC!” |
Just as a matter of interest, when you sign a contract with NATS is it made clear that you may be posted to a country (Scotland) that belongs to the UK of GB and NI where you will pay more tax than a colleague who is posted to a unit of the same banding elsewhere ?
To those that are contemplating Scotland, also be advised that thanks to the SNP/Greens budget deal, you may in future be charged for the privilege of parking your car in your unit's secure car park. I am not knocking Scotland, I spent all my ATCO career there and still have a house in Troon, just trying to make sure you guys and gals are aware of the idiosyncrasies of the Scottish Government. |
Originally Posted by StuBob
(Post 10381768)
Well have come back from doing Stage 2 this week on which I was the only one of 11 to make it to the afternoon DART session and was delighted to be told by the instructor as soon as I had finished that I had passed DART. I still don't think I have fully processed it tbh and now fully appreciate why people say you cannot really prepare for Stage 2 as it really is a barrage test and it is difficult to find a breath never mind completely analyse all the information relating to the tasks, including familiarity of their layouts.
I found it a lot tougher than I expected and was surprised to find I got to DART session as I thought there were one or two stumbling blocks, mostly the numbers sorting which is ridiculous! I think the main thing though, as I admit to actually freezing on parts of the numbers sorting, with informaiton overload when special rules were applying, is to forget about it quickly and just keep, going, clicking as each example changes is a matter of seconds. I would suggest the tests themselves are actually testing for this layered ability for candidates to not only work quickly and accurately but to do so under immense pressure, time constraints, with overload of information over a prolonged period of time, all to test how you fare when it can become too much which the numbers section did for me in places but in spite of that to keep working as best and accurately as you can during these stresses. I ran out of time in one test can't remember which but was one of the mapping ones and I have to say I found the cubes very easy maybe with the exception of 3-4 examples, finisheing that with 5-6mins to spare. Anyway I have already booked on for my Stage 3 at Prestwick on March 6th so will be undertaking more prep for that now! But I had passed and I have my Stage 3 next week 😁 Good luck to you StuBob! |
Originally Posted by The Fat Controller
(Post 10381578)
Just as a matter of interest, when you sign a contract with NATS is it made clear that you may be posted to a country (Scotland) that belongs to the UK of GB and NI where you will pay more tax than a colleague who is posted to a unit of the same banding elsewhere ?
. Swings and roundabouts! |
Originally Posted by TTTom
(Post 10380613)
You should definitely start making plans, some people start the course and are still waiting on medical certificates. You will have to take the leap eventually. Accommodation is tight in Whiteley and some people who left it too late found it very difficult to find anywhere.
I would strongly recommend getting as close as you can to CTC, it makes life a lot easier not getting stuck in traffic everyday both ways. If you can walk in to college then the stress of travel is eliminated. My only concern is that I could, for certain reasons, have difficulties with obtaining the medical certificate. That's why I'm not very keen on signing any tenancy agreements until I speak to the doctor. |
Originally Posted by Niki86
(Post 10382211)
I've already started doing some research regarding accommodation. And yeah, I'd definitely like to be as close as possible to CTC. But it looks like that might be pretty difficult and expensive.
My only concern is that I could, for certain reasons, have difficulties with obtaining the medical certificate. That's why I'm not very keen on signing any tenancy agreements until I speak to the doctor. |
Originally Posted by Flying184
(Post 10381947)
Alternatively you could be posted to a Band 1 unit in London where the cost of living his high, compared to a colleague who gets posted to a band 1 unit where the cost of living is low.....
Swings and roundabouts! Cost of living has and will always be an issue, hence the old "London Weighting" in the distant past. Up until recently tax has not been an issue. The Armed Forces are looking into making sure everyone gets the same take home pay wherever they work. Prospect, the union that looks after ATCOs, rejected a clause at conference regarding this issue, you should ask them why. Best of luck to you all wherever you end up. |
Feel like I have been reading these pages for hours!! Online tests passed in the last few days and invited for Stage 2 early March. Happy with learning all the booklet information - so difficult to try and tell yourself you can't prep for FEAST and DART! Goes against all my instincts to try and prep as much as you can ha! Some great info here! |
Originally Posted by The Fat Controller
(Post 10382504)
What Band 1 unit is in a low cost area ?
Cost of living has and will always be an issue, hence the old "London Weighting" in the distant past. Up until recently tax has not been an issue. The Armed Forces are looking into making sure everyone gets the same take home pay wherever they work. Prospect, the union that looks after ATCOs, rejected a clause at conference regarding this issue, you should ask them why. Best of luck to you all wherever you end up. Band 2 has an even better example..... Glasgow v Bristol! Certainly a lot cheaper to live in Glasgow compared to Bristol. Also worth adding that trainees are not paid shift allowances until the license is validated (completion of on the job training). |
Originally Posted by Lemonair
(Post 10382361)
If it helps, when I had my medical the facilitator mentioned that you're pre-sorted into a red/amber/green category based on the paperwork you submit beforehand and how likely you are to pass. You could try emailing them to ask which category you've been sorted into, I don't know whether they'd tell you but it's worth a go I suppose. It might give you an indication of how attainable your certificate could be. Equally it could be a bit of a double edged sword as the category they sort you into doesn't necessarily reflect what the outcome of the medical could be.
Knowing the category won't really help though as we can't prepare for it. And like you said, the category we're sorted into doesn't have to reflect the outcome of the medical. I guess I'll just have to wait and be positive about it. |
Originally Posted by HannahWrigley
(Post 10361725)
ive got my medical on the 29th January so couple of weeks time. If you want to be added to our WhatsApp group feel free to message me your number c: Thanks ============================== You can’t use the Private Messaging system, add url links or images until you have an established posting history. |
So for those who have had their stage 3 assessment recently how many days prior it did you receive an email with an allocated time slot? I have my stage 3 on Wednesday at Hampshire but I have had no emails from them 🤔
|
Originally Posted by HannahWrigley
(Post 10386734)
I got an email 2 days before I think. Might be worth phoning or dropping them an email if you haven’t heard anything |
Hey guys, anyone on here from Stage 2 yesterday(11/02)? Having made it through to the DART tests again, that is where my journey ends, again! Perhaps i'm just not cut out to be ATC as twice now I have failed on the DART!
Good news though, the process is changing from April with stages 1 and 2 being online before proceeding to stage 3 interview and anyone who has recently failed can re-apply from April, no need to wait a year! |
Originally Posted by Whispering87
(Post 10387529)
Hey guys, anyone on here from Stage 2 yesterday(11/02)? Having made it through to the DART tests again, that is where my journey ends, again! Perhaps i'm just not cut out to be ATC as twice now I have failed on the DART!
Good news though, the process is changing from April with stages 1 and 2 being online before proceeding to stage 3 interview and anyone who has recently failed can re-apply from April, no need to wait a year! That said, don't let me put you off. I know of several people that I work with who got in after more than one attempt and they're very competent controllers. |
Originally Posted by The Many Tentacles
(Post 10388128)
Without wishing to sound too harsh, if you've failed the DART tests twice you may well not be the right type for air traffic. I don't mean that in a rude way, it's just a fact that some people have their brains wired the right way to do the job and some don't. There's some that make it through the second stage and the interviews would find them out and there's some who make it through the interviews as well - because as we all know there's enough floating around the internet and PMs on this forum to allow anyone to be pretty well prepared for the interview stage. However, it will catch up with you at some point and then you've wasted a load of time trying to get a job that you just don't have the aptitude for and you're back at square one having wasted over a year of your life with nothing to really show for it.
That said, don't let me put you off. I know of several people that I work with who got in after more than one attempt and they're very competent controllers. I may give it one more go. It's been a few years between tests and I'd forgot quite how dart went so I could really immerse myself in practice specifically around that for one final crack. |
Does this mean that from April NATS will no longer be using the FEAST or DART tests ( perhaps Europe said non! ). The rate of attrition in the FEAST test is very high. Are NATS dumbing down sorry, I meant streamlining, the selection process. It’s not like they have done that before ;-) Rgds Ayr |
Thanks StuBob |
Originally Posted by StuBob
(Post 10388681)
AyrTC From what I was told during my Stage 2 last week is that FEAST & DART will still apply but will be undertaken like the earlier Stage sections at home. I stand happy to be corrected but that was the gist of it from the instructor present last week.
|
Hi all, I have been waiting to book my stage 2 the last few weeks and I have just got the email regarding the new process. I’m unsure what to do... quickly book up to do my stage 2 in March or wait and just apply through new process again. Anyone any insight/opinions? |
Originally Posted by ajborthwick
(Post 10388867)
Hi all, I have been waiting to book my stage 2 the last few weeks and I have just got the email regarding the new process. I’m unsure what to do... quickly book up to do my stage 2 in March or wait and just apply through new process again. Anyone any insight/opinions? |
Hi, I'm currently waiting to sit my stage 2 (currently studying an unrelated course at uni so was waiting until April to sit stage 2), however, I've just had an email stating stage 2 will need to be completed by the end of March and if sucessful, stage 3 by the end of April. Due to uni placements, I could only now sit stage 2 in Feb. What I am wondering is realistically, how long did it take to learn the booklet well enough to pass the test? Whilst I am aware everyone learns at different rates, I am loathed to spend £300 to travel down from Ayrshire with not enough prep time but would have to start from scratch with my application in April 2019, if I don't. Any advice appreciated!
|
Originally Posted by Lemonair
(Post 10388931)
Personal preference but if it was me I'd rather travel to the office as it makes it more real. I remember when doing stage 0/1 at home I was distracted during one of the sections by someone coming into the study to faff around with something while I was trying to concentrate. I would've been a bit peeved if that had happened during the later stages, which are so much harder. I found being in the right environment at the test centre made sure my head was really in the game. It also gives you a bit of familiarity if you make it to Stage 3 too.
|
Out of interest, is anyone lurking on here booked onto the 8th May course in Jerez? I've yet to find any course mates!
|
I was in the same boat regarding booking stage 2. I checked the dates and there were only 2 available before the end of March. I've booked one and, worst case scenario, I can start the process again in April if I fail. I would check quick though because there seems to be hardly any availability.
|
I'm currently part way through the application process for Trainee ATCO, but I'm a bit confused about how salary progression would work. If I am successful, I will have to take a fairly significant pay cut for a few years it seems, so I'm trying to work out the ins and out and calculate if I can afford it. As far as I can tell it goes something like this:
College phase – £17,000 + £60/week accommodation + £1,000 On the job training – £19,423 to £23,307 (depending on location) Post-validation – £37,014 to £41,253 (depending on location) On third anniversary of joining – £52,878 to £58,933 plus shift pay of around £6,500 Now for my questions: 1) How long is the college phase? The NATS infographic suggests 1 year, but elsewhere I've read about 3 months basic + 3.5 months specialism + breaks (so around 7-8 months)? 2) Does everyone get the £60/week for accommodation or does it depend on you renting somewhere? 3) Who qualifies for the £1000 extra? (When you're on £17k, every little helps! But the NATS website suggests not everyone qualifies for this additional sum, without giving more details). 4) Is the 3rd anniversary of joining counted from Day 1 of the college phase? 5) If the answer to my question (4) is "yes", and college + on-the-job training can together take 2.5 to 3 years, then doesn't that mean you aren't on the £37-41k band for very long at all? |
| All times are GMT. The time now is 15:32. |
Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.