YVR staff shortage?
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ramp_agent
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- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2006 8:45 pm
YVR staff shortage?
This is no way a complaint to ATC in YVR area who do a fantastic job but when the ATIS and NOTAMS say there is a staff shortage there is a problem. Tried searching previous posts but did not see anything. So WTF? We pay a ton in fees, why can’t they hire more staff because they make it fairly obvious that it is needed.
Re: YVR staff shortage?
They can hire more staff, and they are, but remember it takes 2 YEARS to train a controller to the point where they can be working independantly. Also, there is a 50-70% failure rate for the controllers in training. But the biggest problem right now is that for every 2 students in training, one controller has to be pulled off the floor to do the training, which makes the staff problem worse until those students (well, statistically, 0-1 of the 2) check out.ramp_agent wrote:We pay a ton in fees, why can’t they hire more staff because they make it fairly obvious that it is needed.
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ramp_agent
- Rank 1
- Posts: 41
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2006 8:45 pm
That's what I used to think when I first applied and became aware of the "success" rate.ahramin wrote:Anyone know if any thought has been put into WHY 50-70% fail? Pathetic hiring practices? Perhaps the training methods?
However after spending some time on the inside, I think the company (and/or its recruiter, SHL, an HR company) do a diligent job most of the time when screening applicants.
Very often it is not until the latter stages of training that it becomes apparent that a student simply cannot reach the performance level required of a licenced controller, but they can often do a pretty good job most of the time.
Unfortunately, "pretty good, most of the time" means that once or twice per 5 or 6 day work cycle, the student will do something unsafe, create a conflict, miss a conflict, omit passing relevant info to another controller, etc. Sometimes extending the training period will solve this problem, i.e. more practice, and sometimes it won't.
Difficulty in training controllers is a worldwide issue, and not unique to NC. There is a high failure rate across the industry globally, thanks simply to the exacting and highly complex (at times) nature of the job.
It is an unfortunate reality, but not everyone has the ability to do this job, and it's not simply a function of intelligence. If it was, then testing for the job would be far simpler.
There's some kind of three dimensional spatial thought thing required. By luck, some people have it, some don't. It is extremely difficult to test for, and I'm not sure they even do to any extent now in the initial hiring stages. I recall reading that they did try something with some success in Germany a few years ago.
As greykin stated above, it is often not until later on in the training process that critical flaws in ability are revealed. I've seen very bright, well read, mature (in thought) students come all the way through to the final stages in the field only to find that under pressure they will say "turn left" when they actually mean "turn right", and do this over and over again. The human brain does funny things under the higher pressures of training.
I don't really have strong feelings one way or the other about Nav Canada. They're my employer, and in today's world they are probably no better or worse than any other organization its size, but they do make a concerted effort to train, and seem to adjust the training program on a constant basis. The 'new approach' to training may not work, but they do appear to be making the effort to improve controller success numbers.
After all, it's expensive to train controllers. The higher the success rate, the more efficient the program, the better the bottom line, and the bottom line above all is what drives companies these days.
There's some kind of three dimensional spatial thought thing required. By luck, some people have it, some don't. It is extremely difficult to test for, and I'm not sure they even do to any extent now in the initial hiring stages. I recall reading that they did try something with some success in Germany a few years ago.
As greykin stated above, it is often not until later on in the training process that critical flaws in ability are revealed. I've seen very bright, well read, mature (in thought) students come all the way through to the final stages in the field only to find that under pressure they will say "turn left" when they actually mean "turn right", and do this over and over again. The human brain does funny things under the higher pressures of training.
I don't really have strong feelings one way or the other about Nav Canada. They're my employer, and in today's world they are probably no better or worse than any other organization its size, but they do make a concerted effort to train, and seem to adjust the training program on a constant basis. The 'new approach' to training may not work, but they do appear to be making the effort to improve controller success numbers.
After all, it's expensive to train controllers. The higher the success rate, the more efficient the program, the better the bottom line, and the bottom line above all is what drives companies these days.
