Training Documents

Contains ATC training related document used across whole Scandinavia

📄 Training Programs and Documents

Programs

These documents describe in detail, which subjects ATC training in Vatsim Scandinavia will cover. The documents describe theoretical subjects and the practical training including a suggestion for a sweatbox simulator session program as well as online training

📄 Training Program for S2 rating.pdf
(rev 1.1, 14.04.2014)

📄 Training Program for S3 rating.pdf
(rev 1.0, 4.07.2014)

📄 Training Program for C1 rating.pdf
(rev 1.0, 10.01.2014)

Manuals

📄 How to deal with emergencies.pdf

📄 Guidelines for Area Control.pdf

📄 Metar decoding guide.pdf

SKYbrary

The SKYbrary website is an initiative by EUROCONTROL in partnership with ICAO and other aviation organisations. At SKYbrary, you can find articles, reports and video clips about a wide range of aviation subjects, such as aircraft systems, communications procedures, weather, ATC procedures, and incidents and accidents.

Here are some SKYbrary links of particular interest:

🎓 Examination Templates

GCAP Examinations

Templates for examiners to be used during checkouts and for writing the final exam report:

📄 S2_CPT_Log_v1_0.pdf

📄 S3_CPT_Log_v1_0.pdf

📄 C1_CPT_Log_v1_0.pdf

IMPORTANT: Examiners must be under "Local Examiners", otherwise the log will be rejected by VATEUD.


📄 VATEUD_CPT_guidelines_v1.2.pdf

📄 VATSCA_CPT_Guidelines
Description of how assessment of students should be done, using the assessment sheets linked above and the VATSCA policy

Local Examinations

Norway

📄 S1 Examination Log v1.3 (Public link)

📄 T1 ENGM TWR Validation Log v1.0 (Public link)

📄 T1 ENGM APP Validation Log v1.0 (Public link)

✒️ Training Operating Procedures

Student and Mentor policies

✒️ Training Operating Procedures

Training Policy for Students

Purpose

This document establishes procedures that are to be followed by students training to achieve ATC ratings in VATSIM Scandinavia. This training policy is build on top of VATEUD's Division Training Policy (DTP) and VATSIM's Global Controller Administration Policy (GCAP)

Requirements

All students should be able to converse and provide air traffic control services in English, the internationally accepted official language for air traffic control. The student must also fulfill the requirements described in GCAP and DTP.

The student may only have one training request at the time.

Training Progression

Requesting training

The student should request training from our training management system found on our websites.

Waiting for training

The student will now be placed in the training queue. The time spent in the queue will vary severely depending on mentor availability, training demand, season and other factors. Waiting times are often difficult to predict, and students are kindly asked not to repeatedly contact staff members asking for estimates. They are instead encouraged to study procedures, observe active controllers and in other ways do work that will later benefit their training process.

While waiting for an available mentor or assignment, the student will also receive a training monthly confirmation e-mail. To maintain the place in the queue, the student has to confirm their training interest within two weeks of receiving the e-mail. Failure to confirm will automatically close the training. It is the student's responsibility to check their inbox, spam folders etc. to make sure the confirmation is confirmed. It's also possible to log into the training portal and accept it from there.

Training assignment

Depending on training type, the student will be assigned a mentor or assignment for a training programme. Upon assignment the student is required to establish contact with the mentor or other assigned means within 7 days or the training will be closed without any prior warning.

Practical training

Students are expected to study theory between sessions and always be prepared when showing up for training sessions. Mentors spend considerable amounts of their spare time mentoring students, and an even balance between time spent in practical sessions and time spent on self-studies is expected by the student.

Local procedures

All countries in VATSIM Scandinavia might have local procedures building upon this policy. This policy can not be overwritten, but it may be elaborated and impose additional deadlines or expectations.

It is the student's responsiblity to look through the documents of the FIR you have applied training in for details. By accepting this policy, you accept the local policies as well.

Responsibilities and Expectations

In summary, VATSIM Scandinavia expects the following from students enrolling in ATC Training:

  1. That the students are prepared to commit to training, self-study and availability.
  2. That the students make initial contact with the assigned training programme within 7 days of assignment.
  3. That the students correspond regularly with their mentor or assigned staff.
  4. That the students propose at least one date per two-week period when they are available to train. If availability permits, at least one session per week is a recommended average. If the students fail to propose a date over a two-week period, the students will be marked as inactive and will result in an investigation for the students training eligibility.
  5. That the students understand that the mentors commit their spare time to train others, and:
    • Show up well prepared to all sessions, with any questions either prepared or previously sent to the mentor.
    • Show up on time to all scheduled sessions.
    • Should any unforeseen problem arise, cancel training with as much notice as possible. Repeated late cancellations of training sessions will result in an investigation of the students training eligibility.
  6. That the students notify their mentor if they are absent and are unable to train for more than a two-week period so that the training request can be paused. Pausing the training request is intended for shorter periods for i.e. holidays etc. Pausing the training for longer periods will lead to cancellation of the training request.
  7. That the students understand and respect that if they do not adhere to the rules set by this regluation, their training request will be cancelled.

Sanctions

If the student does not fill the expectations and responsibilities, VATSIM Scandinavia may impose local sanctions described in each FIR's local documents and those described in GCAP and DTP.

Acknowledgements

✒️ Training Operating Procedures

Training Policy for Mentors

Purpose

To achieve a standard method and approach on training within VATSIM Scandinavia. This policy generally focuses on the responsibilities of the mentor but also general guidelines and tips. Moreover, it is important this document is kept alive, continually evaluated and amended as the training situation is in motion.

The core of the Training Department‘s attitude is to provide the organisation with skilled members, ready and trained, to provide ATC throughout our network. To deliver this, we need to work efficiently and help each other reach this goal.

Training Progression

Student progression towards ATC ratings in VATSIM Scandinavia is described in the policy for students. All mentors are to be fully aware of the steps the student has to undergo to achieve their ratings and do as much as they can to ensure their journey is as smooth as possible.

The mentor shall contact the training assistant or director if a student does not show satisfactory progress after three sessions. Given that the mentor writes good reports as expected, this can be then used to send a progression warning where the student will be given two sessions to show new progress before the case is escalated.

Responsibilities and Expectations

VATSIM Scandinavia expects the following from ATC Mentors.

  1. Mentors refrain from sharing user information or training details with unauthorized individuals, under any circumstances. Violations will be reported to the Data Protection Officer and the board for disciplinary actions and handled according to our Data Protection Policy.
  2. Mentors are prepared to work with different types of individuals and provide the same training quality to everyone.
  3. Mentors are dedicated to teaching and will deliver the training in a professional manner.
  4. Mentors propose at least one date per two-week period to all their students when they can train them. If availability permits, at least one session per week is a recommended average.
  5. Mentors show up prepared for all sessions, with clear goals and objectives for the session to present to the student.
  6. Mentors provide appropriate feedback in a respectful manner and debrief the session in a way that allows the student to reflect upon their own performance and not only direct feedback from the mentors.
  7. Mentors stay current with local and general procedures.
  8. Mentors shall provide their students with detailed, accurate and correct information with reference to official documents, such as AIP, GOP, LOP and LoA.
  9. Mentors understand that they represent the VATSIM Scandinavia Training Department and present themselves in an appropriate manner whilst connected to the VATSIM Network and its affiliated services (forums, Discord etc.).

Standard process of training

In order to provide high quality and effective training, the training process has been standardised and training should follow these standards in all FIRs of VATSIM Scandinavia. However, these standards should be considered more as guidelines rather than strict rules and FIR specific variations can be approved by the Training Director, when deemed necessary. Every mentor should be familiar with the training process and should consult this document before contacting the training staff with questions regarding the next step in the process.

  1. Students apply for training via Control Center (CC) and the system places the student in the queue. The Training Assistant assigns relevant Moodle courses.
  2. Every mentor is responsible for informing the Training Assistant when they are able to take on a new student.
  3. The mentor is responsible for filing training reports after every session, according to The Training Report section of this document.
  4. During the training, the student must comply with the requirements stated in the Student Training Policy. If the student violates the policy, it is the initial mentor’s decision whether it may be excused. If any further violations occur, the Training Assistant and/or Training Director must be consulted before the training is discontinued.

The Training Report

Training Reports are recorded in CC and must be filed within three days of every session unless the mentor and TA have agreed otherwise. Below are tips and guidelines for how the training reports are to be written, the headings correspond to the titles of the text boxes in the CC Training Report.

Well written reports are crucial to be able to escalate lack of progression to training staff, therefore we ask you to use a few minutes to write a report that reflects the feedback. It's not expected to write much, but it should make sense for an external training staff to grasp the difficulties and potential for improvement by solely reading the reports.

Date

The date the session took place.

Position

The position that was worked during the session.

Comments on Session

“This happened” (is to be written objectively)
Example: Most of the traffic was handled per LOP/LOA. BAW779 was given FL200 after departure by Stockholm which led to a conflict for Sweden later on. Traffic misunderstood the met-report as the term RVR was not used.

Areas to Improve

What needs to be done to get closer to the curricula? What can the student and mentor do? This should reflect what is being said in the descriptive part but also what the plan is for the following session.

Example​: The trainee will study the METAR decoding sheets to give the traffic proper information regarding different weather situations at the airport. The trainee should study the agreed levels between Stockholm and Sweden carefully. Mentor will give an oral progress check next time.

Remember, we build confidence on what the student is doing correctly and we put that into focus. We should however not put any judgment into the reports. Rather than writing: You separated the 4 traffic well or perfectly, we should write that the traffic was separated per the regulations or similar. It is important to keep in mind that during the training, we train and during the examination we assess.

Other types of training

In other types of training than standard, such as refresh there's a requirement that the training reports are still written for these kind of sessions. The local training assistant will have the saying on how this types of trainings are defined as completed.

Refresh trainings should be trained up to today's level and expectation of a controller.

Acknowledgements

Transfer and Visiting policy in VATSIM Scandinavia

1 Purpose

This policy clarifies and outlines how VATSIM Scandinavia manages visitors and transfers, both from within and outside of VATSIM Scandinavia. It is based on ‘VATSIM-POL-TVCP Ver. 2.0’ and the ‘VATEUD – Division Training Policy’. Adherence to this policy ensures compliance with both VATSIM and VATEUD policies.

2 Definitions & Abbreviations

Allocation In the context of this policy, an allocation refers to a FIR within VATSIM Scandinavia.
Home Allocation The FIR to which the member 'belongs' is selected by the member when they first request training.
TD Training Director
TM Training Mannager
TA Training Assistant
LIP Local Induction Plan – A specialized training plan for transferring controllers, created by the TM and approved by the TD.

3 Structure

VATSIM Scandinavia, a subdivision of VATEUD, consists of five FIRs: Copenhagen FIR, Finland, Reijkavik, Norway, and Sweden. Each FIR is treated as an individual subdivision regarding training.

The Training Director (TD) oversees all training-related matters and reports only to the vACC Director and VATEUD staff.

Each FIR has a Training Manager (TM) who manages all training within their respective FIRs. TMs report solely to the TD. Each TM may delegate duties to a Training Assistant (TA). The TA reports only to the TM.

Each controller is assigned a Home Allocation as described in sections 2.0 and 6.0. Only controllers, both active and inactive, and those in the training queue have a Home Allocation. Pilots and observers (OBS) do not have a Home Allocation and will be assigned one if/when they apply for training.

4 Transfer & Visiting Within VATSCA

4.1 Visiting

If a controller wishes to control in other FIRs within VATSCA, they will be officially designated as a Visiting Controller.

4.1.1 Requirements

To gain visiting rights, the controller must:

If all the above-mentioned criteria are met, the controller may request familiarization in any desired FIR within VATSCA via CC or via mail to the Training Director. The controller will be subject to the training queue on the same terms as home controllers in the visiting FIR.

4.1.2 The Familiarization/Training

The visiting trainee must undergo training on unrestricted positions before requesting Tier-1 or Tier-2 training. It is the responsibility of the Training Director and the Visiting FIR’s Training Manager to ensure the trainee has sufficient knowledge of the position before granting visiting rights.

Once the visiting controller has gained visiting rights and completed a minimum of 10 individual controlling hours, they may request Tier-1 and/or Tier-2 endorsement training via CC. The visitor is subject to the training queue on the same terms as home controllers in the visiting FIR.

Training for new ratings can only occur in the Home FIR.

4.1.3 Requirement for Visiting Controllers

All visiting controllers within any FIR covered by VATSCA are subject to the following requirements:

1.    The visitor must perform at least half of their controlling within their Home Allocation.

2.    The visitor must have at least 10 active controlling hours annually in the visiting FIR.

3.    The visitor must not perform below the average level within the visiting FIR or disrupt fellow controllers and/or pilots.

If any of these requirements are not met, except for 4.1.3.2, the Training Manager must inform the visitor and suggest corrective measures. The visitor must immediately implement these corrective measures to meet all requirements again. If the visitor fails to perform the corrective measures within a 14-day period to the TM's satisfaction, the TD will be involved in making a final decision. In the case of a breach of 4.1.3.2, the controller will immediately lose their visiting endorsement.

4.2 Transfers

If a controller wishes to transfer to another FIR for any reason, the Board and training department highly recommend becoming a Visitor first. This will waive all competency checks.

4.2.1 Requirements

To be eligible for transfer, the controller must meet the following requirements:

1.    Have completed at least 50 hours in positions requiring your current permanent rating within their current FIR.

2.    Have obtained the last rating upgrade at least 90 days ago.

3.    Not to have transferred or attempted to transfer in the past 90 days.

4.    Not to have faced any disciplinary action in the past year.

5.    Not currently holding a staff role.

4.2.2 Process

If the controller fulfils all requirements, they must submit a written request to the new FIR’s TM. Once the TM has confirmed the requirements are fulfilled the transferring period will begin. The transferring controller will have up to 90 days to successfully complete the LIP and successfully pass all theoretically tests. If the LIP and tests are not successfully completed within 90 days, the transfer will be rejected.

Once the LIP and test have been successfully passed, the controller's Home Allocation has now officially changed.

The controller will only be allowed on unrestricted positions until they have independent controlled a minimum of 10 hours. Hereafter the controller may apply for training for any Tier-1 and/or Tier-2 position on the same terms as home controllers. 

By the completion of the transfer, the controller will remain the visiting controller in the previous FIR if, they meet all requirements outlined in 4.1.1

5 Transfer & Visiting from outside of VATSCA

5.1 Visiting

A controller who is not a member of VATSCA may request visiting rights within one of the 5 VATSCA FIRs. The visitor is subject to the same requirements as outlined in 4.1.1.

The controller must submit a request via VATEUD. The "Reason for visiting request" must include:

1.    Application text detailing motivation and ability to provide good service to pilots after training.

2.    Home vACC/ARTCC.

3.    Contact details of the home vACC Director or Training Director.

By applying, the controller confirms they are in good standing with VATSIM and understand and accept the contents of VATSIM Scandinavia's constitution. If accepted, the controller is subject to the same terms outlined in 4.1.2 and 4.1.3.

5.2 Transfer

Any VATSIM member who is not part of VATSCA may apply for transfer via VATEUD, provided they meet the requirements outlined in 4.2.1.

After submitting the application, the member must contact the TD with details of their preferred primary control area. Upon acknowledgement of this email, the TD, in collaboration with the TM, will create a personalized LIP based on the member's rating and experience. The process will be similar to that outlined in 4.2.2.

6 Implementation & Transition

This policy will take effect from 10th July 2024.

For all new members requesting training, their chosen FIR will be designated as their Home Allocation.

For controllers who only operate within one FIR, this FIR will serve as their Home Allocation.

For controllers who operate in multiple FIRs, their Home Allocation will be the FIR where they last received rating training or where they currently have active rating training or are in the training queue.

Controllers who are currently active in more than one FIR will be eligible for visiting rights as per 4.1.1.

Any inquiries regarding this policy and its implementation should be directed to the TD.

7 Acknowledgements & Revisions

10th July 2024 – Jeppe Seier, Training Director

Date Revision Number Changes/affected sections
10 July 2024 1.0 Initial Release
01 October 2024 1.1 Titel change from TA -> TM & DTA -> TA
VATSCA numbers removed

FAQ

How to start ATC training

Question: I am interested in participating in ATC training in VATSIM Scandinavia, what do I do?
Answer: Just go over to Control Center and log in via VATSIM Connect (Single Sign On), choose country of interest and request your training. Your training request will be handled within CC, where you will receive messages and status updates about your training request.

Question: I signed up for ATC training some time ago, how come I haven’t heard anything yet, not even a confirmation email from the training department, that my request has been received?
Answer: Information regarding your training request and its status is handled within CC. You will receive information to your VATSIM registered email account.

Question: I signed up for ATC training some time ago, how come I haven’t heard anything yet, only a confirmation email from CC (Control Center)?
Answer: Usually you must expect some waiting time, depending on how many mentors are active and how many students are waiting in line in the country, where you applied for training. In some cases, this waiting time can even be several months, so some patience is needed.

Question: I signed up for training some weeks before another guy I know, but he has been assigned a mentor before I have, how come?
Answer: The sequence in which mentors are assigned to students is not strictly by date of request. Other factors like current rating, type of training (rating upgrade/Major airport endorsement) are also taken into consideration, because not all mentors are doing all kinds of training. Hence you cannot always expect to be assigned a mentor before another student, who signed up later than yourself.

Question: What about pilot-training, are you providing that too?
Answer: Yes we are! You can read more about our training Pilot Training department here.

After training is completed

Question: I just passed my checkout, am I allowed to open a position right away?
Answer: If the validation is an Tier 1 or Tier 2 only, then yes. If the checkout is for obtaining a new rating (e.g. S2), then your rating must be upgraded before you can open the position. You will receive an automatic email from the VATSIM network when the upgrade is completed.

Question: I haven’t received a rating upgrade email after passing my checkout, what is wrong?
Answer: It can last up to 72 hours before the rating upgrade has been processed by the network servers. In case you haven’t received your upgrade email within this period, please send an email to the training director on training-director@vatsim-scandinavia.org including your VATSIM ID, in order to get the missing upgrade investigated.

Controller Practical Test (CPT) policy for VATSCA

Introduction

This guideline ensures fair and transparent student assessments across VATSIM Scandinavia. Adherence to the following policies is required: “VATEUD CPT Log Guidelines – Ver. 1.2,” “VATEUD Division Training Policy – Ver. 1.0,” and “VATSIM-POL-GCAP – Ver. 1.1.”

The “CPT Log” (ver. 1.0) must be used for all S2, S3, and C1 rating CPTs and can be downloaded here.

For Tier-1/Tier-2 endorsements, an examiner assesses the student only if they fail to meet standards after 4 training sessions. If the student meets or exceeds standards, the endorsement is issued immediately; otherwise, the Training Director is consulted. A T1/T2 endorsement does not require a CPT.

A CPT must be conducted at any Training airport and may only occur at a T1/T2 airport if the endorsement is part of the training. CPTs on Sweatbox requires the Training Directors approval.

Failure to follow this policy and use the CPT log invalidates the CPT. Refer to the “VATEUD CPT Log Guidelines” for guidance on each rating.

Coverage

To ensure students' knowledge of top-down coverage, no lower positions should be occupied.

Higher positions should always be manned to attract traffic and ensure proper handover.

Examiners

For a C1 CPT, two examiners are required. If a second examiner is unavailable, inform the Training Director. Examiners must agree unanimously; if not, mark the CPT 'Postponed,' write a summary, and provide the log file to the Training Director for a decision.

For S3 and S2 CPTs, two examiners or an examiner and a mentor must be present. If unavailable, the CPT may proceed with one examiner, who will make the final decision. The assisting examiner/mentor should be consulted, aiming for a unanimous decision.

Examiners must be impartial. If an impartial examiner is not available, inform the Training Director.

The examiner's decision is final and must be communicated to the student within 1 hour, subject to override only by the Training Director or VATEUD.

The examiner must save the EuroScope log file from the CPT and store it for at least 1 month, providing it to the Training Director upon request.

Results leading to a failed CPT

The examiner can end the CPT at any time if the examinee is performing significantly below standards.

A CPT cannot be failed if all competencies are sufficient. If a competency is marked insufficient but the trainee passes, a clear explanation is required. More than two insufficient results in a fail.

A loss of separation results in a failed CPT unless:

  1. It was partly caused by an adjacent ATC station, and the examinee acted quickly to resolve it.
  2. It was partly caused by poor pilot performance, and the examinee acted quickly to resolve it.
  3. The situation was too complex, and additional stations should have been online for support.

A burst of airspace results in a failed CPT unless:

  1. It was due to poor pilot performance, and the examinee acted quickly to resolve it.
  2. Adjacent sectors approved the burst beforehand.

A collision or near collision on the ground results in a failed CPT unless:

  1. It was due to poor pilot performance, and the examinee acted quickly to resolve it.

Failing the "Demonstrates professional behavior and pleasant attitude" field results in a failed CPT.

If any field is marked N/A, it must be reviewed theoretically with the examinee after the CPT. If the examinee fails to respond correctly, it is marked as Insufficient with a comment.

If there is insufficient traffic to assess competencies, use "The trainee needs to be observed again." The filled sheet must be provided to the examinee, and a new CPT scheduled.

Requirements for Examiners

All VATSIM Scandinavia examiners must:

To recruit examiners, the local Training Manager nominates candidates to the Training Director. If approved, the nominee conducts an examination with an experienced examiner, who evaluates their eligibility. If both the Training Manager and the Training Director find the nominee satisfactory, an endorsement is issued.