Books
 

Hi
Just seeing if people found using ATC books to be helpful to prepare for assessment day? Eg ATC prep by Mattson

In the book it has questions on speed dials etc.

Anyone have thoughts they would share?

Cheers

Meldisira - it won't be of any help.

Can't give away what assessment day is like, but there really isn't any preparation you can do going into it besides perhaps thinking about what your answers to standard job interview questions will be and your motivations for wanting to be an ATC.

Just make sure you are as mentally sharp as you can be on the day.

Bennett - I realised you'd posted earlier in this thread and I was on the Monday's AC too! I'm Maurice :)
Yeah, it does look like we could be in for a long wait. I assume at this stage, no news is probably good news since we should probably have received an email of decline by now if we were unsuccessful.

All the best to you and any one else out there who could be waiting!

Thanks Anon, unfortunately it seems my referees have not been contacted as yet (it's been 3 weeks now) but your timeline is certainly encouraging for me to be patient and wait it out -- definitely feels different from corporate environments where no news after 2 weeks almost definitely means it's dead in the water.

Could it be possible that we're delayed at this stage because the start of the next course is still a while away and they're still accepting and interviewing applicants at the moment to fill the next course?
(UPDATE: Just spoke to HR and they're still waiting on more prospective candidates before they start contacting referees)

@meldesira -- I personally just used some "brain training" apps to keep myself sharp for the day, and did some basic background research into the ideal characteristics of an ATCO to help fuel my interview preparation. All the best for your AC day! Just remember to be positive on the day as it's really very casual and you're not put in a position to be competitive against the other candidates - so above all, have fun.

Sam.Irwin - I'd like to know this too. I start in around 6 weeks.

......characteristics of an ATCO.....

ATCO seems to be a UK term or you may hear it in the military. Here in Australia they are called Air Traffic Controllers, often shortened to controllers or ATCs.

Snikeron, as far as I can gather, if they ask for you to confirm referee details, then you have passed the AC. If you did not pass the AC, they decide that on the day and I believe contact you within about a week. As they stated on the day, they are not concerned about filling a set number of positions, rather they accept anyone who fits their criteria.


I believe it took about 3 weeks for my referees to be contacted, but as I said, that was about 5 months ago now, and I still have not been formally offered a position despite having completed the medical and all the other stuff. The wheels of ATC HR grind exceedingly slow.


On a positive note, apparently the Federal Government are planning on combining civil and military air traffic control by 2021. This means that as a tower controller, you will also have Darwin, Townsville and Point Cook as possible locations.

Point Cook?

RAAF Williams.


RAAF Williams - Royal Australian Air Force

I'm pretty sure fujii knows where Point Cook is. I'm also pretty sure there is no ATC service there. Which was probably the point...

That's right. No ATC for at least 25 years.

Well, there you go. I didn't know that. But "Point Cook?" is a strange way of saying "Point Cook no longer has ATC and hasn't for many years." Very easy to misinterpret.

Well, I guess that's a bit like people who might easily misinterpret your post as being known fact, when actually it was something else?

p.s

Anon E Mouse, we'll be getting a combined system i.e. using common equipment. It doesn't mean the RAAF will be ceding any facilities to civilian control.

Anon E Mouse

The towers are not getting Onesky which is an en-route/TCU system. Towers are being fitted with INTAS, a NavCanada system. There are already four INTAS towers. Two more in 2016 and the rest to follow. Onesky only has to provide the data to the INTAS equipment where it is processed for display. The last I knew is that the RAAF had not made decision as to what tower system they will get although they had looked at INTAS a number of times. As le Pingouin says, Airservices and the RAAF will be sharing common equipment and data, not personnel.

@Snikeron - Just had my boss text me and say that he was contacted by airservices. His exact words were "Just did your reference. Looks like you'll be working with me forever after the !!!! I gave you. Muhuhah."

And current status has been updated to: 'Reference Check Complete'

Hopefully we will get an email soon asking us to do our medicals :)

Long time lurker - first time poster :} Thanks to all for the information in this thread, it helped me make the decision to apply mid-2014.

Was fortunate enough to do an assessment centre day in Brisbane last week, found it quite enjoyable overall and will back up others who have said in here that if you get that far there's not anything specific to do to prepare other than be well rested, mentally sharp and approach it with an open mind and open ears. Now the proper waiting begins...;)

I'm wondering how others in established careers & positions handled their references and the timings around referee contact and start of training? Any tips you can pass on? In an ideal world my existing employer could be managed considering how long I've been with them, but you never know!

Also, is there anyone in Brisbane training currently who could provide insight for likely timings for the next Brisbane courses? We're lining up things to be ready to head to Melbourne but with fingers crossed for a potential Brisbane course coming up shortly(ish).

Good luck to all with their application process, no matter what stage you're at.

Airservices Australia Phone Interview
 

Hi Everyone,

I have a phone interview on thursday morning with Air services Australia.

Does anyone know or have an idea as to what questions they will ask?

Any tips and suggestions to help me prepare for it would be greatly appreciated! :)

Cheers
Darren

Darren 93 - Honestly it's just like any other phone interview you'd have when screening for a job before getting offered a proper interview.

Just prepare for your standard interview questions like what are your strenghts/weaknesses, why you want to be in the job, describe a challenge you've come up against and how have you dealt with it etc.......

Starting Enroute 13/04/2015
 

Hi Ant,

Just wondering if this is also your start date as your name resembles an e-mail address CC'd in the ATC 106 Joining Instructions e-mail.

Cheers

Edit: Any others starting Enroute 13/04/2015 - Feel free to PM me. Otherwise see you there!

Was advised a few weeks ago shortly after my first post a few posts back that I had passed the assessment centre day, and referee details were requested.

Hopefully they are contacted soon! Both have advised that nothing has been heard as of yet...fingers crossed for this week.