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ATC Training

A group blog by ATC Training in Division Updates

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Contributors to this blog

  • Daniel Crookes 35
  • Andy Ford 33
  • Samuel James 30
  • Adam Farquharson 17
  • Oliver Rhodes 16
  • Adam Arkley 10
  • Alex Beard 9
  • George Wright 3
  • Fraser Cooper 3
  • Kieran Hardern 3
  • Nathan Donnelly 2
  • Sebastian Rekdal 2
  • Fergus Walsh 2
  • Chris Pawley 2
  • Jack Edwards 2
  • Simon Irvine 1
  • Craig Stewart 1
  • Kye Taylor 1
  • Reece Buckley 1
  • Will Jennings 1

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Entries in this blog

ATC Training

Merry Christmas from ATC & Pilot Training

Merry Christmas from the Training Departments! We're entering that time of year where many of us have a little less time to spend online and as such you'll see less mentoring and a slower response time to tickets. From today (18th December) to Monday 8th January, students in both Pilot and ATC Training programmes are not required to have a session request or availability in the system. This includes those forwarded for exams, who should expect their exam to be conducted in January.  Be
Kieran Hardern

Kieran Hardern in ATC Training

0
ATC Training

Meeting Minutes: Multi Airfield Mentoring

Hi all, The ATC Training department recently held a meeting to discuss a proposal from our TGIs regarding how we might implement S2 -> S3 mentoring across multiple airfields, as part of the wider project of Central Training. At this time, no final decisions have been made. However, productive discussions were held and the proposal is now being refined to take into account points raised. The minutes for the meeting are available here. If anybody has any questions or wishes
Andy Ford

Andy Ford in ATC Training

34
ATC Training

Leon Grant

Dear all, As per Barrie's post on 3 January, Leon has now left his role as TG2 TGM with the transfer of role now complete with James Edwards. I'm sure many of you are aware of the hard work Leon has put in during his time in his role, helping both students, the Department and the membership. On behalf of the ATC Training Department, I would like to thank Leon for his continued commitment and enthusiasm, and wish him luck with his new role as a Community Manager. Many thanks Alex  
Alex Beard

Alex Beard in ATC Training

2
ATC Training

January Changes

Hi all, After a few months of testing we are adjusting the way that ATC exams are picked up. Previously our Head Examiner has assigned exams to our examiners, the new method will allow examiners to pick up exams without waiting for them to be assigned. Our aim is to minimise the time students are waiting after being submitted for an exam. To ensure that examiner currency and any potential speculative bias is removed, we have set criteria that governs whether an examiner can  pick up and exa
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in ATC Training

5
ATC Training

Introducing Training Tuesdays

Dear all, In conjunction with the Pilot Training team, I am very pleased to announce the introduction of Training Tuesdays. One of the biggest difficulties that the ATC Training Department face is generating enough traffic to make training viable on the live network, which in turn leads to mentors attempting to use Sweatbox more to generate traffic to train students. The vicious circle develops itself by pilots then seeing a lack of air traffic online in the UK and instead flying e
Adam Arkley

Adam Arkley in ATC Training

5
ATC Training

Increasing Access To Moodle

We have completed the process of opening up our online learning (Moodle) courses to make them viewable by all members, regardless of rating or training status. To access a course, simply go to the course and self-enrol. By doing this, we are looking to give students and rated controllers alike the opportunity to read training material at any time and take control of their own learning. We will, however, be restricting access to the "final exam" part of each course to only the students that
Andy Ford

Andy Ford in ATC Training

2
ATC Training

Hello and moving forwards...

Hi folks, First of all, a big thank you to Adam for all of the fantastic progress he made as ATC TD - I hope to build on the great work we started together and see it through to fruition. Secondly, regardless of past confusion or posts - Central Training is still going ahead. In the coming months I am keen to update the membership regularly on the CTIB's (Central Training Implementation Board) progress on delivering CT in its various phases. We will be rolling it out in phases for
Samuel James

Samuel James in ATC Training

0
ATC Training

Heathrow TGI Vacancy

Following Nathaniel's resignation, we begin the recruitment process for a new Heathrow TGI. The role The Training Department is responsible for developing and implementing training schemes for the award of VATSIM controller ratings. We are looking for someone to join our existing team to help us continue to deliver high quality training and a great standard of Heathrow controllers. Role Description Have overall responsibility for training within the Heathrow TG; Select
Adam Farquharson

Adam Farquharson in ATC Training

0
ATC Training

Heathrow TGI Appointment

I'm happy to announce that @Fraser Cooperhas been appointed as the Heathrow TGI. Fraser brings with him a wealth of experience of multiple ATC Training roles (and other staff positions) both in the UK and throughout other divisions on the network. Over the last few days Fraser has been picking things up from Nathaniel and he will soon be up to speed with Heathrow. I'm excited to see what changes Fraser's appointment will bring to Heathrow. Welcome to the team Fraser!  
Adam Farquharson

Adam Farquharson in ATC Training

4
ATC Training

Heathrow Ground Training

Dear all, On behalf of the Heathrow RTS, I am pleased to inform you all that we have successfully completed the Heathrow GMC Training Trial (LL GMC Trial). This trial has indeed made a huge impact on how the Heathrow RTS will deal with training requests in the future. Our primary focus is to reduce the amount of 'unnecessary' one-to-one mentoring sessions by delegating the responsibility of understanding the Heathrow theory to the student himself, through a self-study system. I am ther
Sebastian Rekdal

Sebastian Rekdal in ATC Training

1
ATC Training

Heathrow APC Validations

Dear all, I am pleased to officially announce that as of today, no Heathrow APC students will require an official and advertised validation/examination made by VATSIM UK. The new process is inspired by our previous changes with Heathrow Aerodrome, namely by letting our mentors sign off our students. The new process will be: the student passes the Heathrow APC e-Learning course; the student receives practical mentoring until considered capable of controlling Heathrow APC wi
Sebastian Rekdal

Sebastian Rekdal in ATC Training

0
ATC Training

Have Your Say: ATC Training

All, The purpose of this post is a general consultation of the membership regarding their opinions of the ATC Training Department and where its priorities should be over the next 12 months. Now I should start by saying that the department does have a vision for what it would like to achieve in the near future. This includes working towards reducing training times, mentor retention and also further developing our online learning resources - more consultations and opportunities to come i
Andy Ford

Andy Ford in ATC Training

41
ATC Training

Get Involved: CT S3 Moodle Course

All, The ATC Training Department is looking for contributors to the ongoing development of our online self-learning moodle courses. The ultimate goal behind these courses is to shift the responsibility of learning towards the student, reducing the amount of theory that has to be explicitly taught in mentoring sessions. In turn, this will reduce the amount of mentoring sessions required to obtain a rating or endorsement by better preparing students for the situations that they will encounter
Andy Ford

Andy Ford in ATC Training

2
ATC Training

GCAP Update 3: Effect of Change

Good morning all, Yesterday, we processed the first roster update since GCAP went live on the 1st March. On the 1st March, we retained on the roster anyone who had controlled at all within the preceding 12 months, from the 1st March 2023 to the 1st March 2024. Thereafter, currency requirements dictate that to remain on the roster, a controller must control three hours within every fixed quarter; three hours between the 1st Jan and the 1st April, three hours between the 1st April and the 1st
Adam Arkley

Adam Arkley in ATC Training

2
ATC Training

GCAP Changes to Heathrow Training

Hello everyone, To comply with the introduction of the Global Controller Administration Policy (GCAP), we have made some changes to the way training is conducted within the Heathrow TG. Heathrow is now categorised as a Tier 1 airfield. For more information regarding GCAP, please see the VATSIM.net policy here.   Introduction of Heathrow GMP/GMC endorsements for S1 members With the implementation of GCAP, members who hold an S1 rating are now able to apply with Heathrow T
Fraser Cooper

Fraser Cooper in ATC Training

0
ATC Training

Gatwick eLearning Course (DEL/GND)

Hello all, Over the past months we have been writing a Gatwick Ground & Delivery familiarisation e-learning course. The course is now complete. You are now all able to self enrol on to the course. https://moodle.vatsim-uk.co.uk/ This course is designed for any member who wishes to further their knowledge of controlling either on Gatwick Ground or Delivery. Additionally, this will make up one of many future e-learning courses available for airfield familiarisation. These c
Samuel James

Samuel James in ATC Training

2
ATC Training

Gatwick ADC Endorsement Syllabus

Hi all, We are pleased to release the new syllabus for members working towards their Gatwick ground endorsement. We are working towards releasing syllabi for all of our training courses whether that be for a rating or an endorsement in order to improve the continuity of mentoring provided and to make it easier for students to know what they are working towards. A big thank you to all of the Gatwick mentors who help review and provided some great feedback on the document! Thanks,
Daniel Crookes

Daniel Crookes in ATC Training

0
ATC Training

Example Theory Questions

We have published a selection of example theory questions for all levels of ATC examination in the UK. These questions are intended to give exam candidates an idea of the sort of things that they might be asked by the examiner after completing the practical aspect of the exam and the level of detail they need to read into. These questions are provided without answers. It is intended that students will do the necessary reading in their own time to understand the subject matter and become con
Andy Ford

Andy Ford in ATC Training

0
ATC Training

EGNX: Training Aerodrome Update

Effective immediately, East Midlands (EGNX) as a training aerodrome will be moving to TG2 from TG1. The training places of those who are already training on EGNX will not be affected. The trial of using East Midlands for training again went well and at present TG2 has a large number of students going through the system on a lower number of aerodromes (compared to TG1). We are therefore moving East Midlands to TG2 to increase the capacity. If in the future, TG1 starts to have capacity issues
Andy Ford

Andy Ford in ATC Training

0
ATC Training

E duobus unum: Merging Waiting Lists

Hi all, At the beginning of 2017, in the delightfully entitled post ‘Exitus Acta Probat’ (Latin for ‘the end justifies the means’, from the poetry of Ovid, if you’re interested), Sam announced the merger of the old RTSs into the Training Groups (TGs). One of the main reasons for doing so was to reduce the discrepancies in waiting times between the RTSs. In the same spirit, and following discussions with students, mentors, and staff, we have now merged the S2 and S3 waiting lists for TG
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

2
ATC Training

Division Instructors - Review and Appointments

As part of my review of ATC Training when I took on this post at the end of last year, I sought to understand the roles that are in place across the department, from department assistants to training group leads and mentors to division instructors. It's this latter group that is the subject of this blog post. For many, many years, division across VATSIM - including here in VATSIM UK - have recognised the experience and seniority of some of our most capable mentors through their appointment
Adam Arkley

Adam Arkley in ATC Training

0
ATC Training

Deferred ATC Training Places

Hi all, So that we can ensure fairness for newer students, we recently introduced a two year limit for training place deferrals, set-out in section 4.6 of our ATC Training Handbook. Every student with a deferred place has been informed of this by email - if you expect to be on a deferred list and haven't received an email, please get in touch with the Member Services team. If you deferred your place less than two years ago, you will have up to two years from the date that you deferred
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

0
ATC Training

CTS Theory Exam and Training Place Eligibility Changes

Hi everyone, As mentioned in my recruitment post, in the past couple of months I’ve been looking at what quick changes can be made in order to improve ATC Training. My main focus is maximising the use of mentors time - feedback from mentors suggests that they spend a lot of time teaching theory that is already available through other resources (Moodle, Syllabus, vMATS etc.). Explaining the practical application of theoretical concepts is an important part of the role of a mentor and we want
Adam Farquharson

Adam Farquharson in ATC Training

1
ATC Training

CTS Phase 1 Preparation - Exitus acta probat!

Hi folks, In preparation for CT, myself and the Web Services team will be in the next 3 weeks merging all Training RTSs into the 2 new Training Groups (TG1 and TG2). As a student you may begin to notice small cosmetic changes to the CTS, however you should still be able to request mentoring provided you are listed as an active student with a mentoring place. For those members who are not currently training or are currently in a waiting list for training you will most likely receive an email
Samuel James

Samuel James in ATC Training

15
ATC Training

CTS Controller Booking Etiquette

Hi all, Following a couple of queries and concerns raised over the last couple of days, I wanted to post a reminder of booking etiquette, particularly for new members who've joined fairly recently and might not be aware of the conventions. The website regulates that "booking shall not be excessive in duration", which is deliberately a rather vague rule (perhaps the main source of confusion). "Excessive" is a difficult term to define, as what may be considered excessive in one case may
Oliver Rhodes

Oliver Rhodes in ATC Training

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