Andrea,

There is a fixed number of people for each course but this isn't always the same for each course - e.g. April/May seems to be exceptionally large in comparison with other recent start dates. It also depends on how many people failed the course last time and will need a space to re-sit. However, if you pass Stage 3, you will get on a course, but when that will be is another matter...

All people who pass a certain mark on the Stage 1 tests get asked to complete the online personality questionnaire.

i have read through all of the pages and I was wondering if someone could please recommend me a few aptitude books so that i can practise before stage 1 in a few weeks?!? i have looked and I cant seem to find any books...so any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

@ paperclip810 Thank you very much! Very appreciated.. Another question, NATS will let us know via email or via NATS own page?

Thank you

gingerpaul

Yeah I was the one who initiated the conversation with the two guys I spoke to! Hence me asking and knowing where they came from and what industry they're currently in. But it seems most were just really focussed, so I guess I can't blame them - but after the testing I thought people would say 'how you feel it went for you etc?' Instead everyone was out quicker than farting in the wind!!! I did notice the other group were still under test conditions, and I think they came out 20+ minutes after we left.

Im studing Technology and Design ICT and Economics which is sooooo boring because the teacher i get makes u want to go to sleep lol
i am really interested in ATC and i will normally push myself for the subjects i love like technology but i just cant get my head around economics lol ict is a doss but the exam process has changed and its gettin alot harder

I suspect that some parts of the college course will be quite boring too (Air Law anyone?!), but you will have to persevere to get through it... Learning Economics should be good practice! :ouch:

Abz:

Just out of interest... what about the job makes you very interested in ATC?

Least im not the only 1 to fail stage 2 now. (hadn't read anywhere in this thread people failing it) I got some feedback using the message centre on my application form.

See you next year?

@ MAGGIESFARMER

how do you quote on this forum?

Russell,

Sorry to hear you didn't make it past Stage 2. Was the feedback you received useful?

No its not just ATC its just i have been interested in Aviation all my life and because i cant afford to become a piolet then this is the next best thing and hopefully will give me a good salary and experience so that i can go on and become a piolet.

Plus other people make it sound really good and they say its the best decision of their lives and i havent heard 1 negative feedback yet!!!!!!

Many ATCOs do fly part-time, but stating that your career plan is to become an ATCO to earn money and then go and become a pilot may not be the best route to convincing the recruiters that you're worth the investment in your ATCO training!

Abz217, I agree with JonathanB, the chances of you being recruited if NATS think you are going to leave to become a pilot are non-existent. The enormous outlay to recruit and train controllers takes several years to recoup before NATS even begin to make a profit from you.

You probably haven't helped yourself either that any future recruiters reading this site (this is the next best thing) knows enough about you to work out which application is yours.

finally, there no 'e' in pilot.
shugs

Abz217,

I have to agree with JonathanB here - there are a few questions in the course of the application (stage 2 especially) that seem to be asking whether you actually want to be a pilot but for some reason aren't going to be, and have therefore selected ATC as the 'second best'. From this, I'm guessing they don't think too highly of that strategy...

My other half is a commercial pilot and from what I hear, I'm not sure I'd want to go through ATC training and validation, and then go through groundschool and ATPL! Personally, I think the characteristics of ATCOs and pilots sometimes differ, so being good at one might not mean good at the other - I may have just opened a can of worms there...

Have you considered joining the RAF to be a pilot?

I have considered joinin the RAF for the piolet course but i dont want to join the army ever lol

I am very interested in TATC but i think i might got a PPL like part time after i get my TATC licence. I dont think i wil want to become a commercial piolet but just fly as an extra curicular activity if you know what i mean or just for my own enjoyment

Although I've gone about it back to front and already have the ATPL exams and CPL, but I always wanted to do ATC. I've got to the stage with the flying where I want to keep my hobby for fun and be able to do "proper" grass-roots flying (i.e. light aircraft, aerobatics, instructing) on a part-time basis rather than flying the airlines. Many ATCOs do this (but usually become ATCOs first!), so the two are definitely not mutually exclusive! Finishing the ATPLs last year (and getting good results) while working full time at a job in the city has proved to myself that I will be more than capable of studying full time on the TATC course.

So, I failed my stage 2... feedback says:
"You failed in the interview due to the nature of the interview"... Does this mean I passed the computer bits, but failed at the HR structured interview bit?

I have my stage 3 coming up next week and was wondering if the other stages have any bearing on whether you make it or not? To they take into account your performance on the computer tests or is it solely about how you do on the day?

sauceball,

As far as I know, Stage 1 and Stage 2 are just there to decide whether you should reach Stage 3 and they don't count directly towards the decision.

However, I know they can ask you about things which you might have got wrong in the motivation papers, or the results of the personality tests so Stage 3 is not totally devoid of previous stuff!

Good luck - feel free to PM me if you have any random questions.

Hi sauceball
think paperclip810's right. if you had done something majorly wrong in earlier stages you wouldn't have made it this far. They may ask you questions just to check you are still answering the same as you did in the on-line personality test and stuff.
good luck

Thanks for the replies. I guess what I meant was, if you performed really well at stage 2 but maybe struggled in the final interview, would they take that into account compared with someone who scraped through the computer tests but gave a better impression at stage 3? Or am I thinking about this too much?!

I think maybe you are thinking about it too much sauceball, but the honest answer is I have no idea.

I would suspect they only look at stage three, and they make their decision in the 10 minutes after you walk out of the room. Even if you aced stage two, i don't think this would help you if you didn't perform at stage three, as this is the only time they actually speak to you/interview you properly, so need to make a good impression.

So you really want to become an airline p i l o t? I'd suggest you think of other ways of saving the money. Not having a serious interest in a profession can lead to boredom, boredom can kill.

You may also :mad: off NATS in the process!

Just my 2 cents.

Maggiesfarmer, I also failed on the interview. It was the first interview i'd ever taken so I was nervous and gave silly answers and couldn't give examples to some questions when asked to. Ill be back next year, although I have just applied to EUROCONTROL but don't really want to leave the UK. I think it will be a good experience to have a go at their selection process anyway.

Have any Stage 1 attendees (London, Mancs and Glasgow) from the 10th of March heard anything back yet?

I know they said within 15 working days but I thought that they didn't normally take that long.

Is it a case of, no news is good news?

Bzz1,

It takes almost 15 working days - I'd guess you'll hear next Wednesday or so...

No news is just that - no news! It seems everyone gets emailed at the same time for Stage 1, although not for the other stages.

Hey man,

Even for my Stage 3 results (where there was only 5 people who attended) the results still took 15 days to get back to me. Take early notification as luck on your behalf :P

Best of luck!

Why have NATS changed the places to do the stages?

Ive got to travel to Swanwick now! I think i will probably fly to southampton and get a train there.

But anyway, ive got all my stuff for stage 1, ive read the main text part, i found alot of it to be quite straight forward, stuff i know about already.

Im at the last part, where all the airfact code stuff is. what do i have to do with that? will i get tested on any of that stuff, as i dont quite understand why i would need to know something like that for stage 1!

Maybe because of the current economic climate?? Before, stage 1's were held at hotels at London, Manchester and Glasgow = expense for NATS!

Same reason why they aren't paying travel expenses for any candidates attending stage 2's any longer.

Learn it? I'd expect to get tested on anything that appears in the stage 1 materials!

Ye, i thought after writing it, they would probably ask me a question like a B737-800 is departing out of manchester, where could it be travelling to. Answer would be something like going to popular European destinations by carriers such as Ryanair, KLM, BA etc

Hi
 

Are there more popular aircrafts that they will ask you about or will they pick one at random.

I have the pre-preparation material but was just wondering if i need to learn it all. I will learn it all but will give the popular ones more time and MAKE SURE i no it off by heart. Any tips????????

Got my stage 1 in Glasgow tomorrow. Been hectic with my final few weeks at uni, this interview overlaps with my dissertation hand in (15,000 words, not good!) but have still managed to pay a lot of attention to this, so hopefully done enough. Really want to get through.

Abz - Just learn all of it, there's not that much to cover if you give yourself enough time. If it doesn't come up in the test it'll still be useful for the future. Learn a couple of planes a day and keep re-writing the info out until you're confident you know it well. No idea how random the test is as I've only done it once.

Has anyone passed the first stage their first time?????? and what age were you then????
And has anyone passed all three stages their first time at the age of 18???????????????????

Cuz all i have heard is that people that went it for their stage 1 always fail their first time........... just want to know the possibilities lol

thanks

it definitely can be done at 18, i know a few people who have started at the college less than 6 months after their 18th birthday. some people do get all the way through first time, but by the same token a lot of people get through second or third time around and it has no effect on their chances of making it through to being a valid controller.

i know some people say that the first time they applied it was all a bit of a step into the unknown and as such felt they didnt do as well as they could, and as such were more ready for it the next time around.

my advice would be to take on board what people say and opinions, but then remember that its YOU against the standard, not anybody else. if you have the ability on the day, you will get through, regardless if everyone else there gets 100% or 1%.

Calm down Abz217

There seems to be a myth going about that NATS fail youngsters (18-20) first time round just to see if they come back and they are genuinely interested.

If you meet the minimum requirements, and pass the interviews, you are in, regardless of age. If NATS wouldn't consider employing 18 year old's they wouldn't advertise for them.

I'm certain there are many people on here who have applied whilst still at school and gone on be great controllers. In my personal opinion, I would have found the interviews difficult, especially stage three, if I had not gone to uni and had a job before applying though.
shugs

I should hope not that they fail people 1st time around who are 18! I am having to fork out nearly £200 for a flight and hotel to go to my initial testing, if i didnt want to do this career, i wouldnt bother going.

Are NATS good at spotting enthusiastic candidates and does this have a high postive effect on getting through each stage?