Air Traffic Controller

[irharry]

TJL and Towerguy, are you guys referring to the assessment centre, or the 6 month training course itself?

From your comments it sounds like you are talking about the actual training course?

I've been speaking to a few controllers over the past 2 weeks, one is in OJT at the moment and another is recently out of OJT. Both indicated that around 30% of those who went to the assessment centre (final stage of selection process) made it into the ATC program. From there about 50-70% of those who enter the ATC course made it out the other end, they said something very similar to towerguy, that its very high pressure and they are looking to take those that can handle it while "weeding out" those who can't.

From what they tell me the assessment centre is really looking for leadership ability and the ability to work in a team effectively (communicate, co-operate, co-ordinate) and confidently. A bit of sim testing, and a high stress interview.

I'll report back how I found it in a few days!

[ZK-TJL]

QUOTE (irharry @ Apr 9 2011,1:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

TJL and Towerguy, are you guys referring to the assessment centre, or the 6 month training course itself?

From your comments it sounds like you are talking about the actual training course?

Both really. In post 18 I'm talking about the whole selection process, including the assessment centre. Towards the end of my post it goes into the course abit, this helps to explain why the selection process is tricky. There is one group exercise where you will be asked to build an airport out of blocks etc, but you'll each have your own role to play and specific instructions (eg "Its your job to manage the budget, you must ensure that blah blah blah" etc). This is about team work etc. It doesn't go into leadership as much as PERSEL. PERSEL has many group exercises over a few of days. So for ATC selection, teamwork is important, but it doesn't get as much attention as the Air force give it in PERSEL.

In post 20, I'm talking about course exams (but there is one line on the selection)

Again just my thoughts.....

Hope this helps. Best of luck


PS I checked up on course exams, From a mate of mine who had an ATC exam yesterday. 3 hour exam, 2 multi choice questions........must be the warm up questions hahaha, the rest all huge lists long and short answers. This is just one exam mind you, but from memory they were all along this sort of line.

[irharry]

TJL, was that you in the chch tower today (06/04/11) taking the flak for being the new boy?

I had an inkling it may of been you but there was no suitable time to ask. I was one of the newbies up there annoying the hard working folk!!

They still do the lego block idea - as TJL said the concept is simply everyone has information and needs to share it, only by effectively sharing your info and working together can you complete the task.

Another group exercise involved each member of the group being given an adjacent piece of airspace to control, and working together to control planes as they traverse our airspaces and moved from one persons space to another. Great fun that, we had a blast requesting permission to send our planes on, checking altitudes were all good, even designed our own mini altitude cruising tables!!

Some computer based testing focused on short term memory and the ability to think about two things at once - that latter was brutally hard, asking you to solve maths equations while also controlling a very fast moving simulator type program.

Lastly a small regional tower simulation, designed to assess whether you can prioritise flights based on preset rules, and I based on my testing I think they were also looking to see whether you would stretch the rules as required and think outside the square (eg use the apron as a landing strip, divert planes to another airfield even though they dont tell you you can do that). This is the only part of the assessment centre where I think prior aviation knowledge helped.

The interview was there of course, great experience if rather nerve racking. All you can do is relax and be yourself, and be confident in who you are!!

Now to wait a week, 13th April I find out if I'm in.

[ZK-TJL]

QUOTE (irharry @ Apr 11 2011,9:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Another group exercise involved each member of the group being given an adjacent piece of airspace to control, and working together to control planes as they traverse our airspaces and moved from one persons space to another. Great fun that, we had a blast requesting permission to send our planes on, checking altitudes were all good, even designed our own mini altitude cruising tables!!

Thats new, we never had that one.

Yip, that was me, Sorry I didn't say gday, was abit busy with planes. Adrian was doing what he does best, being a funny bugger. He was returning fire, as I managed to get out of giving the tower brief to visitors....A job reserved for the new boy.....As you could tell, its a great bunch of people up there, funny as hell....We're always laughing

Best of luck, let me know how you get on.

[Ian Warren]

Pleased you guys are having fun and damn pleased you are not watching 'Gary Simmons' (dufess)... id hate to see you guys prancing around in the fish bowl while i look out the window as i,m climbing out off Christchurch

[irharry]

Yup I'm in. Be seeing you in the fish bowl in a few months!

[ZK-TJL]

QUOTE (irharry @ Apr 14 2011,1:37 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yup I'm in. Be seeing you in the fish bowl in a few months!

Outstanding, well done........its no easy road getting in. Best of luck with the course give it heaps
feel free to flick me a PM if you have any questions etc

[FunkymonkeyNZ]

BUMP:

Hi All

I've been following this topic for a while and i'm very interested in some of the comments coming from you blokes now working with Airways. I've got so many questions i want to splurge out but im afraid i'll get carried away Did any of you chaps dabble in getting your pilot licenses before making the move to ATC? The reason why i ask this is because its been brought up in many a conversation "oh ATC will be my PLAN B" blah blah blah.
Now that i've come out of my training i'm at a serious cross roads with my career, yet i have many a doubt in my mind that its not as black+white as what its made out to be. Some of you guys who have been through the course have been joking about the "Multi Choice" questions yet this did make me sit up right! For two years these multi choice questions have become the norm for me and i must admit they have made me become lazy (thanks ASL ) in the way a typical exam should be conducted. Is there a high rate of CPL pilots coming through the intakes thinking they have what it takes and completely bombing out?
It sounds like the course it's self is very hard and the failure rate is high....I'm ready for a challenge!
On My Aviation Diploma course only myself and one other completed right through to CPL+MEIR out of 12

[mfraser]

Hi there - I had to chuckle at your last line.... as it happens I didn't bother to finish my DipAv!! =D I started it with Ardmore Flying School while in the RNZAF back in '95, but stopped at PPL as I was lucky enough to remuster into Airman Aircrew on the Huey. I still have the PPL 16 years on and did the CPL and IFR theory exams, but never completed the flying component. I'm absolutely certain it gave me a leg up with the ATC course and I have to admit I pretty much cruised the course until '053' which is the non-radar Procedural Approach phase of the course. Also, on my course was a part-time C-Cat fixed wing instructor and a guy with a PPL(H).

I did my ATC course in 2004 and the exams back then were a mixture of short answer and multi-choice questions - so it sounds like they may have changed!! 7 of the 8 people on my course successfully completed ATC training. Hope this helps.....

Mat

[FunkymonkeyNZ]

Thanks for the fast reply Mat!

I've got more questions rolling around in my noggin believe me, i just need time to sit on them.
When you say some of the guys (and gals) who do not make it out the other end, is this due to being unable to pass a certain criteria or just throwing up their hands opting out and realizing its just not for them or what not?

Chris

[mfraser]

QUOTE (FunkymonkeyNZ @ Apr 24 2011,10:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

When you say some of the guys (and gals) who do not make it out the other end, is this due to being unable to pass a certain criteria or just throwing up their hands opting out and realizing its just not for them or what not?

Hi Chris - the person that didn't complete the course was the PPL(H) guy I mentioned above. He just up and decided one day that controlling wasn't for him - he ended up becoming a Tower Flight Data Assistant instead!! The Flight Data positions were recently disbanded, so he actually ended up going full circle and went back flying!! Feel free to fire away with those questions!!

[HamiltonWest]

New Zealand's air traffic control training a hit overseas
http://www.3news.co.nz/New-Zealands-air-tr...73/Default.aspx

[Ian Warren]

Better get Jon Murchison to put his hand in creating bits and pieces ... and who says flight simulation is a 'flight of fancy' .. oh that's right .. my Brain doctor