sorry meant 03/11/2010

Thanks Flying Bob. I didn't know how the situation stood with regard to the holdpool. There's a lot of idle gossip floating about so it's good to have some clarity on that at least. All the best.

Hi Gurmsehmi

I presume you are aware of the different stages of the selection. The interview stage itself was a one on one and relatively relaxed. From memory, there were no technical questions but more emphasis on relating life experiences and to give some examples of leadership qualities etc. The questionaire that you will have filled in for the application should cover most of it. I can't speak for other peoples interview experiences but I think you can expect the normal HR kind of questions.

Best of luck if you go for it.

Flying Pikey;
Cheers mate, yeah im going for it. Any job at the moment is a good job. Getting bit tired of instructing on PA 28s and 152's !!!

Does anyone know how many cadets are in the holding pool and how many in the ATP 'database' Any chance of any ATP's being placed soon?

CTC offer self funded type ratings. Do they also place you or put you into flexi-crew if you do this? Only asking as EZY are suppose to recruiting etc.

I dont see the point in ATP AQC if you have already done a MCC / JOC and ideally would rather spend money if I had to on a type rating. I read the note regarding ATP and the fact that you may be asked to pay towards a type rating anyway.

Seems like a gamble at the moment if the Cadet pools are emptying and some of the posts on here mention waiting over a year etc. Perhaps its a scheme designed to keep the CTC simulators rolling and its frustrating you cannot apply directly to airlines, avoiding such organisations when people already have the ticket with a bit of experience.

As it is my first time posting on this forum i would like to say hi to everyone. :ok:

I've read almost all the pages of this thread and i got braindead and confused of so much gossip and different points of view posted...

I've received today an email from CTC to join the assessement but there's no date given, just the information that until the end of 2010 it's fully booked... :rolleyes:

I'm still wondering if it's a good opportunity or not in these days... whatever, i'm not here to make the famous question "DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY GUYS ARE ON THE HOLDING POOL????????" Goooosh i'll have nightmares with that question because of seeing it so many times written here..... hahah

I just wanted to "shake" the thread a little bit and see if there are more POSITIVE news about people who were swimming and got a job.....

Respectfully,

- Brief questions, as I'm going on the 13th to Dibden;

Anyone recently went to the test that can clarify what type of maths questions they are giving you? In this thread some suggests it's 15 questions is 15 minutes. Is this still the case? And is it the usual time/distance questions?

Anything else than the math part one can prepare for?

And, is the easiest and cheapest way to get to Southampton from London the train?

Any advice would be appreciated:)

Does anyone have any recent updates about the atp scheme? ie has anyone entered the atp holding pool recently and then gone onto a TR course.

How long did you wait? What was the TR cost?

Thanks

G

I passed the assessment this week, so I'm up for the AQC in "the near future".:)

I don't know about TR or contracts, but they seem very positive about the prospects at the moment and they're busy. The ATP holding pool is btw. relatively small.

I would like to hear from people that have finished the AQC as well and what contracts they have been offered. Anyone of you out there:}?

For those of you doing or considering the ATP course.
Those in the present ATP holding pool have been there for at least TWO years.
The pool of ctc cadets is slowly reducing but of course it increases every month as new cadets finish their courses.
CTC will only take ATP cadets when and if the normal holing pool is empty.
Having said all that there is quite a lot of recruitment at the moment so it MAY be worth a punt!!

Waldo --> what sources do you have? In CTC's newsletter they talk about 100% placement record for their Cadets as well as the fact that the ATP-route is only open when they have a future need of pilots. This seems to be true as the ATP scheme has been closed until recently. I'm not saying CTC don't have an interest in making their reputation as good as possible, but from my experience this is a genuine and fair company that have a healthy approach to the industry. At least compared to may other companies.

To put out a specific number there are around 40 in the ATP holding pool, this is a number I got from CTC themselves.

HAHAHAHA! Are you serious?!

sharpclassic --> Yes I am, can you elaborate on why they are not?

It would be nice with a little more information on your background and relations to CTC, eg.: Are you in the holdpool, have you attended the assessment or are you just making your opinions on the basis of rumors? "HAHAHAHA! Are you serious?!" is mere an irrelevant statement rather than contribution to sober discussion of things.

If you tell me about their FlexiCrew-thing I would say to you: Yes, it's not a good contract, but have they ever told anyone that this contract is the best in the industry? At lease they HAVE a contract to offer to cadets/ATP guys and to be in a holdpool is better than being a 250 hr cadet on you own. Even if this means waiting for quite a while.

All I am saying is that if you expectations are too high, yes, CTC is not the place for you. No place would be the place for you if you'd expect a excellent contract as a cadet. Add to that the economy. It Think CTC was very aware of this on my assessment day (which is my relation to CTC) and they didn't promise ANYTHING but their best effort to get us jobs at the end of the ACQ.

Pjate,

Did you ask them why they continued to send 16+ cadets a month to New Zealand during the economic crisis, knowing full well that the hold pool would get so full that cadets ended up having to declare bankruptcy in order to get the banks off their banks?

No I didn't. - But then again nobody is secured a job, sharpclassic. No school can provide you with that promise and I don't think you can blame any company for trying to make their business work but also to be "up front" with cadets when economy recovers. Imagine if every school stopped their flying because of the economic downturn: we would be 2 years behind with pilot supply because 16+ cadets would be sent to NZ as a direct result of immediate demand. This discussion is a bit out of context in this ATP Thread, I'm sorry in advance!:ouch:

It's not out of context at all, it's very much IN context. As other have eluded, as an ATP entrant, you will ONLY get a placement when there are no cadets available to satisfy the demand. So, with 16+ cadets going to NZ, with a large hold pool already in place, the need for ATP entrants doesn't seem to be that great.

Just my two pennies worth...

ajate, sharpclassic does have a valid point about the ATP scheme, however the reason I asked the question is find out (as much as possible on this site) facts about the numbers involved.

As you've been recently, did CTC say how long the 40 or so have been in the holding pool? What about the length of time it will take for you to start the AQC?

My colleague has just been accepted into EZY via Oxford and was practically told he had the job before the interview as they are so short of pilots so i'm interested to know if thats the case at CTC.

Thanks

I'm not sure about the exact numbers game. The following seems to be information that, if not validated by CTC themselves, seems to be ballpark figures:

- CTC placed just below 200 pilots in the crisis-year of 2010.
- Around 40 pilots are in the ATP holdpool, I can't find any info on the Cadets.
- EasyJet estimates a demand of 200-300 pilots this spring, and the general trends is for experienced Airbus-people go to some nice Middle-Eastern contracts at the moment. I don't know how many of the 200-300 pilots will be CTC's, but it's not very few I could imagine.
- CTC have got new requests because of the bettering in the economy. A friend of mine told me two or three pilots has just been taken for a Hawker TR for a company I didn't know was one of CTC's clients.

These numbers are, as I said, not official. But the general trend in the economy suggests an increasing demand (look for example on available positions on eg. latespilotsjobs.com). I think this demand will benefit holdpooler's and we will see some good figures in 2011.

I have not got at date for the AQC, yet I went to the assessment just last week. My guess would be it's not going to be that long (1-2 months would be my guess).

CTC didn't force anyone to head to NZ to pursue a career in aviation. It is, as with any investments, a risk. However with CTC you come out with a greater chance of employment at, at my last look, a reduced cost.

If you want to take that view sharpclassic, any FTO over the last few years sending cadets to Arizona, Florida, NZ or Jerez are wholly irresponsible.