The ATC Training Department is responsible for developing and implementing the training scheme for controllers, as well as providing mentoring and examinations towards rating progression. We also offer a number of optional endorsements and conduct all transferring controller rating ratifications.

The ATC Training department is structured into "Training Groups", each of which deal with specific types of training at various facilities. The administrative aspect of Training Groups are handled by the team of ATC Training and Member Services staff; please always use the Helpdesk for queries related to ATC Training. Each Training Group has a number of Training Group Instructors (TGI), who are responsible for overseeing training in their respective groups - ensuring suitable progression and maintaining standards. Every Training Group also has a number of mentors. The mentors provide practical mentoring sessions to students and help them progress towards their next rating.

The current training groups are:

• TG New Controller (NC): Responsible for the OBS to S1 training process and group seminars;
• TG Tower (TWR): Responsible for S2 training at all training airfields;
• TG Approach (APP): Responsible for S3 training at all training airfields;
• TG Enroute: Responsible for C1 training on EGTT and EGPX enroute positions;
• TG Heathrow: Responsible for training towards validations on the UK's only designated Major aerodrome, London Heathrow.

There are also a number of Division Instructors (I3 rated), who are experienced and long-standing members take a wider view of training, from the perspective of the entire division. They work on projects assigned to them by, and provide counsel to, the Training Director.

The department maintains a pool of examiners. These members are experienced as controllers and mentors and are responsible for conducting Practical Exams and Transferring Controller Validations. All exams in VATSIM UK are assigned to a particular examiner, to ensure that all examiners conduct a fair amount of exams and that there are no conflicts of interest.

Overall, the department is managed by the ATC Training Administrative Manager, who looks after the day-to-day running of all the Training Groups, and the ATC Training Director who is responsible for the department as a whole.

There are plenty of opportunities to get involved in ATC Training. We are always looking for mentors to pass their knowledge on to the next generation of controllers and the department is grateful for any time, no matter how small, that a member is willing to give up to train new controllers. We are also in the process of creating online learning courses, to allow members to self-teach and reduce our training times. Members who have a passion for writing accessible learning content are more than welcome to contribute to our online learning courses.

Or, even if you just have an idea that you want heard, the department is always open to new ideas and we acknowledge that sometimes the best ideas come from outside the department. So, if you've got a good idea for the future of ATC Training, please get in touch so we can discuss it.