Likewise ^^
Been waiting since July 8th. Curious what average wait times are since there's people in this thread who had to wait several months to get their Stage 3 Assessment done.

Stage 2 unsuccessful
 

Hi everyone,

I recently received feedback that I didn't pass the Stage 2 testing for the Trainee Air Traffic Controller position at NATS. I'm feeling quite deflated as this was a role I was really passionate about. I would appreciate any advice or insights you could share on how you prepared for and succeeded in the Stage 2.
I’m going to apply next year and just do some extra re search about it.

I've been waiting since June. From what ive read here, I expect the entire process to take a year. The one thing I am not looking forward to however is that when they release more interview dates, there is no preference to when you passed S2. This means someone could say pass S2 on September 1st and get an interview before either of us. Or at least, that's what happened last time.

So sorry to hear that, hopefully you pass all stages next time you apply. i'd advise doing the jobtestprep tests to pass stage one although they are a bit expensive, there's always a few issues so you end up getting a refund if you ask.

same I think a lot of us are in the same boat I finished stage two end of June/early July

That peeves me off a bit not gonna lie but I guess its first come first serve

A friend of mine passed Stage 2 on June 24th and was invited to book a date for Stage 3 two days later, however I passed on June 28th and haven't been offered Stage 3 dates yet.

Did you your friend get invited this year ? I received my pass stage 2 on 26th June and still haven’t heard back regarding stage 3 so you’re not alone

too much of a coincidences if you ask me … however I spoke to current NATS employee and they ensure me, they’re not racist . Hard to believe when minorities aren’t getting selected …

Has it occurred to you that minorities may just not be as interested in applying so there are less of them in the job?. The application explicitly states they particularly encourage applications from less represented groups for whatever reason. Hiring based soley off merit is obviously a terrible thing.....

has it occurred to you that recruitment for this position been going on for 10years minimum and I have yet to see a minority air trafficker ? It’s easy to defend when you’ve never been a victim of racial profiling. It’s more than a coincidence …

If you cared about the role enough to look properly you would see there are, indeed, minority ATC but also minorities within a vast range of other roles within NATS - both in terms of ethnicity and gender.

With regards to Stage 3 - last year it was a link they sent in an email that you had to check as much as possible and try and snag a time slot for your assessment. This year it seems to be they are sending invited out in blocks to people rather than going with the "first come first serve" method from last year. Probably means slightly longer wait but no constant refreshing the link to see if slots have suddenly appeared.

I've been in the job for 15 years (in the UK) and I've never met a colleague from an ethnic minority.

Sometimes HR operate with no apparent logic, don't take it personally.

'Hanlon's razor' - a saying that reads: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence"

In 43 years I can recall at least 6 gentlemen from ethnic minorities that I knew in UK ATC.

Hopefully that just means your friend barely caught the last batch of stage 3 availability and not that all of us here scored low enough to be low priority for stage 3 hahaha

Here's hoping we all get a chance at stage 3 assessments in the next few weeks!

I don't know as I haven't been invited yet, but I think once they send out the next block, it will still pretty much work as first come first served. Meaning, they are not going to invite a certain number of people, but rather invite everyone and then let some people try again when the next block is released. So the only difference is that we are now informed when to look, rather than having to look everyday refreshing for eternity. Unless anyone has anymore details on how it's working this year?

Yes they applied this year. Ok good to know! Hopefully we'll hear back soon.

Hello,

Anyone got an update on stage three yet?

I found out that I passed stage 3 last Monday. It took 3 days following my assessment to be told.

No dice at the moment. Application portal still has me down as:

2. Application under review
08-Jul-2024
We are currently reviewing your application!

Congrats!!! I'm sure you're going to be eagerly awaiting 2025/the start of your training (so long as you pass your medical and security checks)!
Just curious, have you given the choice of studying at NATS Whiteley or the college in Gloucester/Cheltenham?

Congrats, if you don't mind me asking how was it and what were the nature of the assessments?

Just booked my Stage 3 Assessment for the 8th of October! Look forward to seeing any of you from this thread then ^^

hi mate,
when did you get confirmation email about your stage 2 being successful and waiting for the assessment centres?

Hello! I received my confirmation email within an hour of completing the stage 2 assessments around midday July 9th. Hope that helps!

Well I consider you very lucky. I haven't received any communication since passing my S2 in June. I'll still be holding out hope. Didn't think they had scores for S2 but maybe they must and that us what they are inviting based on?

Can't imagine they're using scores for S2 but maybe for S1 since you're reassessed on the S1 tests in the stage 3 assessments. That said I can't imagine I scored that well on S1 considering I did the tests right before going to bed hahahaha

hi! So I completed got my confirmation of passing s2 straight after I submitted it which was mid June and still haven’t heard back.

Congrats mate ! Hope it works out for you

quick question , when did you apply ? As many stated , I applied mine July and still haven’t heard back regarding my stage 3

Thanks! I first applied July 8th and had finished my stage 2 assessments on July 9th. It seems like they're sending out emails about availability in batches so hopefully you and the guys who applied back in June get emails soon! They've closed the applications in the last few days so it'll only be a matter of time for everyone that passed the stage 2 assessments to get their invitations to stage 3 ^^

I'd be very interested in knowing how they decide when a person will be invited. Even if it was based on scores, it would have been easier to get an invite when the first batch was released than it would be now, as now everyone has applied. As long as everyone gets an interview and has the same chance, that's fine. I have no clue how many places they are hiring for.

Booked my stage 3 test for 2nd October!!

Hello! I passed my stage 2 on 13th July, and got the invitation for stage 3 on 8th August. I could only book for either the 18th or 24th September, so have gone for the 24th.

Good luck to everyone!

I passed stage 2 on July 1st of this year and I've heard nothing about stage 3. I'm anxiously checking my emails.

Can someone confirm the email address it should arrive from?

I then emailed then to ask about an ETA (including whether they were sent out in blocks) and they replied:
'We are currently assessing your results and the invitations to attend the next stage will be sent in due course to those who have met the minimum requirement to proceed to the Stage 3 assessment centre. '

I don't think that is new information unfortunately.

Yes, you won't get any new information. It's seems to me they are either only allowed to say certain phrases from a list, which is the same for the majority of companies, or you are actually receiving a reply from a bot with predefined responses.

I wouldn't expect NATS to actually give us any useful information. We just have to wait until the application cycle is over to know if we failed or not.

Yes you make a good point regarding their responses. I had it in my head that if you passed stage 2, you met the 'minimum requirements' and thus were guaranteed a stage 3 assessment at some undefined point. I would be curious to know if is there anyone who passed stage 2 only to get turned down for a stage 3 assesment later on...

Congrats, I envy you for getting earlier availability! I'd like to try and get an earlier slot than October 8th but I don't want to click the reschedule thing and potentially lose my slot & wait till like November/December instead hahahaha

Question for those that have passed stage three- the resit of the stage 1 tests are they exactly the same as the tests we did in stage 1 and if so are we doing the tests supervised while were on teams- can you use a notebook for the heading/bearing test

I just had this email … looks like even if you’ve passed stage 2 you won’t get invited to stage 3. Unlike last year.

Thank you for your patience whilst we assessed the results of the Trainee Air Traffic Controller applications. We have had a greater volume of response than anticipated and as such it has been necessary to base progression to the next stage in order of performance at Stage 1 and 2.

We will be in contact to confirm whether we will be able to proceed your application as soon as we have undertaken the initial assessment centres.