You need to be ok to do the entry tests and then once you got to college you never do any more maths other than (on aerodrome at least) dividing things by 3.

Or multiplying by 30!

supposed to be having a Swanwick visit tomorrow prior to Stage 3 interviews this tuesday and sods law says i have Swine Flu :(

just recovering so should be ok in time for the interview, but gutted that i am going to have to miss out on the visit- at least i managed one tower visit!

Hi everyone,

first post here and yes ive read all 196 pages, thats why im finally positing at 1:30am lol

my advice to anyone serious about this and all stages is read all the posts, the information I have gathered is increddible

Well my stage 1 is on 24th September, I purposly choose the furthest date, so I can have the most time of preparing myself.

I intend to learn the whole motivation paper and not do what others have suggested in reading it a few times, because lets be honest if you get through, the information learnt is invaluable !

love the site by the way, and will be spending much time on here, and I have fav'ed soo many pages on this thread alone for future reference, so thanks guys for the information !

The only confusion I got, is I spoke to HR, as the email invitation said "there is no requirement to attend a NATS site" but then gave me three sites to choose from. She just said its slightly confusing as you do a test online. So i replied so that will be provided by email before stage 1 and she said yes? Now I have not come across any mention of this on here, maybe a misheard and thats the personality test after stage 1, but oh well, if there dont email anything then what have I got to worry lol

anywhere here's me off, to go back to some pages and re-read posts and get that manual printed and with me all the time ! :ok:

sorry rambling on now

i got an email about a test online but i thought it was a practice test?

so i let my brother have a go because he was being big headed while i was eating my tea, i just looked and its an actual test?!?! oh crap i already have a test booked for august 10th so surely this online test thing doesnt ruin my chances does it, i tried to take the test again but you can only take it once.

this would be a terrible way to ruin my chances, but i guess its my own fault..... please help someone

Steven, did you get this email after and how long after?

I only recieved the booking confirmation so far, with practice tests amd link to the SHL site??

anybody else who can confirm this, as the email confirmed that all the links provided were practice material.

slightly worried now

Thanks for the replies regarding leave in December. I guess it just a case of waiting to find out! I had my Class 1 medical at Gatwick yesterday but am unsure as to what the next step would be. Am I expected to contact HR to let them though I have have had it? Or would they find out from CAA?

Until you get to Approach where they expect you to be able to count backwards in multiples of 7 & 8 from a random first number and multiply it by 1 and 1/2 while in the middle of a rather challenging sim exercise!:eek:

Hi all,

I've made my application to NATS and since then I've been reading through this thread. I've visited sites with practice tests and bought a book. I also have two books on order....

I understand the concept of the diagramming tests but I didn't get it correct all the time on a practice attempt. I found practice tests on a link from this thread.

The spatial awareness is easy enough, I think!! Just training the brain to complete the questions faster will probably help.

Stage one looks very scary now as I feel that nerves on the time may get the better and being concious of the time, I can see a nightmare!! The diagramming is going to throw me I think.

Can anyone offer advice? :uhoh: How bad are the tests on the 1st day?

Thanks in advance.....

just a quick question for you if you dont mind, did any of your emails for the stage 1 booking and booking confimation mention anything a test before attending stage 1?

UK20,

What may be a bit daunting when you take stage 1 tests is the number of questions on the various tests. Don't allow this to make you panic, you do not have to complete all the questions. On the diagramming and spatial awareness tests I only managed to complete 75% of questions max and I got through.
I've heard there is now more emphasis on distance / speed / time calculations now than when I did stage 1 so ensure you practice these a bit.
Obviously learn all the motivation paper material, I didn't learn the bits about the aircraft at the back of the pack but there were a couple of questions on it, I could afford to get these couple wrong because I knew everything else so it's up to you really.
If there is a personality questionnaire just tell the truth, when I first applied this was an online thing after stage 1 and I tried to tailor my answers to the job, I failed. The next year I was totally honest even when I felt I should put something else, this time I passed.
Finally good luck! I'm sure you'll do well!

Saraj,

When I recieved my stage 1 booking e-mail there was nothing about any test prior to stage 1 but this was some time ago now so if it does exist then it must be very new since I haven't seen it mentioned on this forum at all. If it was an important test then I would imagine you'd need to pass it before being allowed to book a stage 1 place so I wouldn't worry.

Thanks for your reply ATC Hopeful.

Hopefully yourself or someone out there can help me with this. I've read through most of this thread! And gathered some very useful info. However, I'd just like to clarify some points regarding S1.

S1 consists of the following tests. Multiple choice tests apart from the basic checking.

1) Basic checking - checking of numbers etc against a list.
2) Diagramming - input, process and an output and asked to determine the process to get to the output.
3) Spatial awareness - the old nets and cubes.
4) Motivational paper - multiple choice paper with ATC related questions.
5) Mental arithmetic - speed, time and distance related questions with multiple choice.

Do I have it right? Or are there any other papers? I've read that there's 60 questions in 20 minutes to be answered for some of the tests, is this right?

Thanks.....

EDIT; It seems the diagramming tests require you to carry out instructions for the process to get the right output. You select the output you believe it is? NOT trying to figure the process yourself to get to the output that's already there (a bit like algebra but with shapes.)

Can anyone provide some examples of questions from the motivational paper?

Many thanks.

UK20, the basic checking is not part of Stage 1 anymore. The d/s/t test is there instead.


As for the personality test, I would suggest everyone to try a DISC test like this one - DISC TEST
It is very similar (although much shorter!) to the NATS test and I think it might help to see at least roughly where your answers place you. It helped me, anyway...

Also you can tell from it what kind of people would generally be considered appropriate for the job. Personally I think all this psychological testing is b......t and you can tell more about a person after talking to him for five minutes, but that's not the point.

I am not saying one should be lying in the test but from personal experience I can say sometimes it's better to think about the question and pick an answer which is truthful and yet not completely out of their profile result.
Like, you do not want to say that most of all you love competition and want to beat everyone else and then talk about your successes for a week :)

Hi Russ!
 

Hi there mate,

I read your post, & it sounds very interesting to me as I'm a second time candidate this year. Last year things were slightly different.
There were no speed/time/distance calculations, now that's new to me(haha). I also remember that with the old fashioned cubes we had 50 questions in 18 min, & in Diagramming 40 or 50 questions in less than 20 min. The basic checking test was something like 40 questions in 5 min & we sat two of these tests. Last years motivation paper is slightly different to this years motivation paper, as some new info has been added, I've checked it out, just learn it by heart & you won't fail.
My only concern is, that there are no specific publications available in book stores other than some psychometric books which only contain a few examples of Spatial Reasoning & Diagramming. I already have 6 or 7 of them, but they didn't help me get through last year, so I guess I still have to keep on searching for something new, any clues?
Feel free to ask any questions mate, thanks for the latest news, take care & keep posted.

What are NATS views on employees taking extended leave, ie. gap years and sabbaticals once they have been qualified 3-4 years?

UK20,

HR used to send out practice examples of what was going to be on the stage 1 tests, have you not had this? It could be that the process has now changed nad they don't send this, perhaps others who have applied recently will know?
I don't believe there are any more tests than you have stated but you shouldn't be shocked on the day if there is something new, the testing procedure can and has changed.
Don't worry about how many questions there are on the tests, whether there are 20 or 100 you just need to answer as many correctly as you can so practice until you are confident of your ability.

Nigel, you need to fax or scan and email your Class 1 certificate to the NATS medical department - the details should be on the letter that they gave you after your NATS medical at Swanwick. PM me if you can't find the info...

Thanks Jonathan

I can't find the details for the NATS medical team, if you have an address it would be greatly appreciated.

See your PMs, Nigel.

Does Anyone have stage 3 tomorrow- really quite nervous now and still feeling a bit ill fomr a douse of swine flu :(

spoke to HR this morning and they confirmed that there is absolutely NO technical knowledge required for stage 3! its all competency based on the PDF found on the ATCO careers website- someone posted a link not so long ago!

Stage 3
 

Does anyone else have the Stage 3 on the 11th of August?

Pugwash,

That is a dirty tactic announcing your swine flu on here in the hope that you'll put off the other applicants due to attend your stage 3. Definitely thinking outside the box though, I like it.

Thanks again ATC Hopeful,

Trouble is at this rate, I think I'll probably answer 20 questions in each paper at best! ;-(

I haven't received any documents as I'm still waiting for response from the medical department as I wear glasses. They need to check the details I put on the application are within their eyesight range.

Looking ahead to S2 and I know that is very premature but the FEAST tests look even worse! Does anyone know if the maths questions are related to S/D/T and is there long to answer the questions....? The reason I ask is because I haven't found as much info on here regarding FEAST tests as I have with the stage 1 tests. I know I need to get myself through S1 first.....but I like to be aware.

I have to say reading this forum has helped me become more confident about what to expect. It's now just about being able to do it! I've ordered the book 'Psychometric Tests for Dummies' lol in a bid to assist me with S1.

Hi UK20

what are the details for your vision? my both eyes are 6/6, and it says it has to be 6/9 or above, which doesnt make sense, as the lady said your eyes are like normal with glasses on

the thing is when i applied i did not wear glasses but when i applied i though i better get them checked out, always though i had a problem with them, but never been to optician about it, but now there given my glasses, so i need to contact HR/recruitment and make them aware and hopefully doesnt affect my booking for stage 1

I can't find the detailed medical requirements on the new atcocareers site, but the vision part is broadly similar to the JAR Class One medical initial requirements which are detailed here: http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/49/SRG_MED...%5B2189%5D.pdf

The UK CAA Class One medical that is required for an ATCO licence may be slightly different, but the standards detailed above will give you a rough idea.

Hi,

My visual acuity in each eye is 6/5 corrected. The requirement is, corrected or uncorrected, 6/9 or better. You mention 6/6 for both your eyes, is this corrected? As to my knowledge 6/6 is normal vision and in that case I don't think you require any correction (glasses/lenses.)

Oright, so when there say 6/9 or better, just it mean 6/7 would be better? never understood it

Yeah, you've got it. When they say 6/9 or better that means, 6/9, 6/8, 6/7, etc is ok.

This esentially means you should be able to see what the normal eye can see at 6 meters, from a distance no greater than 9 meters.

6/6 is the same as the old imperial 20/20.

It means that the person can see detail at 6 metres distance what a person with normal eyesight can see at 6 metres distance (the imperial 20/20 means 20 feet).

6/9 (the limit) means that the person can see detail at 6 metres distance what a person with normal eyesight can see at 9 metres distance - so the eyesight is worse.

6/5 is better than normal eyesight (you can see at 6 metres what a person with normal eyesight can only see at 5 metres) - so the eyesight is better than normal.

More info on Wikipedia as usual! Visual acuity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

excellent news, i will call them up later this week and let them know, i now wear glasses, there want all the rest of the details hopefully that would not affect. but it does 6/6 for both eyes

UK20,

I assume you can't actually book a stage 1 slot until your eyesight is given the okay. Once you are able to book a slot ensure you give yourself enough time to practice the test material and learn the motivational information, there's no sense rushing it and booking into the first possible slot only to end up failing because of lack of practice.
There's little point in thinking about stage 2 yet because it's really not something you can prepare for, at least it wasn't when I did it a few months ago. It is a near enough a whole day of computer tests, the only familiar part of the test was a few cubes.
I bought a one of those psychometric test books for stage 1 aswell, it was useful.

Stage 3
 

Brian2503

Check your PMs when you're back on, nervously waiting the S3 results! Nightmare lol

Andy

Stage 1
 

Hi all,

Having not got in last year, i've re-applied this year. I know the process has changed, but i was wondering how long those who have been invited to Stage 1 had to wait for the email?

I completed the online application on 14th July and still no word. Last year it was pretty much instant.

Cheers

P-P-Powerbook

I got an email the following day to say I'd passed the OPQ.

Powerbook - did you apply via the new (atcocareers.co.uk) or old (natscareers.co.uk) system? If the latter then it's probably got lost in the move to the new system. If the former, then it might be worth chasing it up!

Hello all

Ive just registered after having read through the majority of the thread..... I have my stage 1 on the 25th August so giving myself some time to revise and ask any silly questions I have! if anyone has any good advice I would love to hear from you. I understand that the process has changed from last year which has thrown me a bit, as I applied last year but was ill and unable to attend. Anyways..... the journey starts here, i hope!

Hello everyone! Been reading this forum for a while so thought I'd bite the bullet and finally join!

I applied on the new website on 15th July and have heard nothing back so far. I even sent a follow up email yesterday and I've still had nothing back. :confused: It is therefore a bit galling to hear of other people receiving an email within 24 hours of applying! Does this mean the inevitable or do NATS have the decency to send you an email with an answer either way?

Cheers,

H.

STAGE 2
 

Hey I have Stage 2 on 3rd Aug, just wondering if there was any motivational stuff. There was when I applied a few years back, but I dont seem to have had anything through?

Gutted if not, the motivational stuff is easy as you have forever to prepare for it!

also, anyone else staying down in fareham the night before, ie 2nd aug? Cant believe an 8.15 start, when I did it a few years ago it was 10am start! :sad:

Well Ive just done the online tests...... That was more tricky than I thought it would be, the countdown thing makes it hard..... or maybe im just a little slow :(