As the NAO Report (paragraph 3.12) explains, NATS hopes to achieve significantly higher pass rates through more selective recruitment and more effective training, and by shortening the period of "on-the-job" training. It is, as Richard Everitt explained to the Committee, an aspirational goal towards which NATS is working.
On-the-job or validation training periods vary from operational unit to operational unit depending on the task and the training required for it. The Company has established study groups within our air traffic control centres looking at ways of making controller training more effective. The groups will be looking at a variety of issues including, for example, options for changes in procedures, greater use of simulators and so on. This work is being taken forward with the involvement of the trades unions and changes in training methods will be subject to scrutiny and approval by the CAA's Safety Regulation Group. Recommendations from the groups are expected in the first half of 2003.