Rigorous selection process

If you're lucky enough to get a place on the training programme, in Shannon, for air traffic controllers then you have a grueling two years ahead. It begins with an induction module where you get to know your classmates, says Tom Deane, team leader on the student controller programme.

"We depart for Killary adventure centre for three or four days, where students do mental and physical exercises which teach them to think as a team," he adds. Up to eight years ago, there were no women controllers. Of the last four training groups, there were 58 men and 28 women. Fewer than 20 per cent of trained air traffic controllers are women.

The three-month theory module is classroom-based and includes ATC procedures, aviation law, navigation, meteorology, human factors (psychology), ATC systems (computer, radar, data), theory of flight and aircraft performance, and airfields.

Students are continuously assessed throughout their training but the continuous assessment marks do not count towards the final exams.

Instructor Gerard Ryan says "it's black and white. You have to ask yourself if you would be happy to have this person control a plane at 30,000 feet with your wife, husband or child on board."

Although there are occasional failures or drop-outs, Deane says he expects everyone to get through as the selection process is rigorous (see below).

Those who pass basic training go on to 18 weeks' simulation in radar, nonradar and airfields. The college, which will be moving to a new purpose-built building in the autumn, has radar and aerodrome simulators with planes "flying" in and out of "Athlone airport".

During this time, students do five hours flying time with a local commercial operation. "They see things from the pilot's point of view," says Deane. The 18 weeks also includes two or three weeks in operations.

From generic training, students progress to specific training. This means they may train in a particular airport in an area such as high-level (25,000 feet - 66,000 feet) or low-level radar (5,000 to 24,000 feet) or approach control. Successful students get a student controller's licence which allows them to control traffic in a live environment.

Students now progress to on-the-job training which is continuously assessed. After 16 weeks, if a student is deemed satisfactory, he or she becomes a rated controller.

While the job is well paid (£27,000 to £37,000 for grade 3, the entry grade, plus a recent 5 per cent increase), air traffic controllers must operate in a 24-hour shift situation.

It's a hugely responsible job with the primary aim being to prevent collisions between aircraft. The Irish aviation authority provides traffic management services for 100,000 square miles extending from the Irish Sea to about 250 miles into the Atlantic. It's not just planes that land in Ireland - Irish controlled airspace occupies a key position for all air traffic travelling between Europe and North America.