NATS TATC aerodrome location
 

Hi all,

Recently got the news I will be joining NATS TATC course and my training location will be the Gloucester college.
Just wanted some clarification regarding the chances of locations after validating. I’m from around London so being sent to a unit at one of the major London airports would be ideal but not sure what the chances of this happening are.

Obviously they are the busiest and require the most controllers , does this mean most trainees are sent to one of these or is there no correlation in how busy the airport is and where most trainees get sent.

Thanks!

When you join NATS, you get sent wherever you're needed, it could for instance be anywhere between Glasgow and Southampton.

...although NATS is a little bit better these days at taking account of posting desires.

Your logic is sound though - most NATS airports are London so most trainees will be heading that way.

Does your performance in training have a factor in this that you’re aware of? For instance if you perform well and progress well in training you get sent to a busier tower and vice versa.

Except for Cardiff, Bristol, Southampton, Farnborough, Middle Wallop, Wattisham, Manchester, Glasgow; you could be sent to any of those.

Am I correct in saying these are tower and approach validations and London towers are only tower validations. So you would know if you are getting sent to a London tower?

also will this selection be based on performance during initial training and aptitude shown within the first couples months. So if you perform and progress well you will get sent to a busier unit and vice versa

At the end of my training we were asked where we would lke to be posted.; I said 'Northern Radar' (in those days an area radar unit at RAF Lindholme near Doncaster) I was posted to Farnborough instead.
I remember one ATCO Cadet course where the graduating cadets were all sent to West Drayton; several resigned immediately.

I see you've used the word busy/busier in each one of your posts. There is a distinct difference between handling busy traffic and handling complex traffic. Sheer numbers don't mean much. There are a number of smaller, primarily GA aerodromes that don't provide ATC that are 'busier' in terms of total movments than many of the larger aerodromes in the UK, with ATC, controlled airspace etc.

The college works to a regulatory standard, and anyone who meets that standard gets a Student ATCO licence. If you're thinking that someone who is a borderline pass will get sent to a backwater aerodrome with a handful of flights a day, and the 'cream of the crop' gets sent to a large London airport, then no, this isn't how it works and that view will grate on some people if its implied.

There was a point a few years ago where NATS were training a lot of Area Radar controllers for En Route work at Prestwick or Swanwick ACCs but a lot were failing the courses and were being re-coursed and sent to Global ATS; some were given ADV/ADI training but some were also given APS training.

When you start with NATS you'll be given a staff number. You'll find it's the most important thing about you as far as your new employer is concerned, because to them you're just that... a number, a bum on a seat, someone to fill a hole in a projected operational staff shortfall some three years hence.

That may sound harsh and no doubt a bit concerning, given you're not joining a branch of the armed forces. But the fact remains that NATS is a business, run for the benefit of customers and shareholders, and the needs of the business will determine where you, as a "Mobile Grade", are sent following the successful conclusion of your basic training.

The needs of the business will also trump any factor concerning your performance or your home town's postcode. Even those very few postings made on "compassionate grounds" are subject to a business case, otherwise HR would be continuously swamped with requests and the unsuccessful amongst them would cry 'foul' if others were seen to get what they had not.

Don't get me wrong, it's a fantastic career with fantastic rewards and as employers go, there are a lot worse out there than NATS. What NATS may lack in certain areas it excells in others, and the financial rewards from an ATCO salary will take the sting out of much which you may find objectionable. Let's face it, if you want an employer who is perfect then you best go set yourself up in business.

If you're being trained for Tower/Approach you're very fortunate because once fully qualified and with a few years under your belt, the world is your oyster. Area control, somewhat less so.

Don't lose sight of where you might like to spend your future career, but mentally kick that can down the road by a good few years and you'll avoid any disappointment in the short/medium term. Good luck and enjoy the ride - seatbelts will be required.:ok:

Congratulations! I can't offer anything useful about the way NATS works these days but would reiterate rab-k's comments about future prospects when you have aerodrome ratings. If, after getting qualified, you're not happy with where you have ended up, there is a huge range of opportunities available to you, and whilst you can never confidently predict controller numbers needed in the future, there will probably be increasing demand as people realise that the promise that AI will do everything isn't actually true! And, of course, it's only my personal view but I find en-route to be really boring :).

It's what was envisaged witth the ATCO Cadet scheme which I went through in the '70s; 3 years training in ALL disciplines not just aerodrome/approach OR area so you got sufficient operational training and you could go into any of the three with all the ratings in your licence when you graduated and there would be a 'pool' of controllers constantly being 'topped up' with new controllers.

If you think en route is boring, try a Tower at a regional airport on a quiet winter's day...

Loved it, endless cups of tea, no night shifts and so much spare time which enabled myself and colleagues setting up a businesses which NATS approved as “secondary employment”. In my case enabling our two kids to get through uni and Masters courses debt free.

All this and still paid above the general national ATCO wage as an ATCO III

Pleased to hear. However my point was about the job being boring, not the great conditions or financial reward..