Trainee air traffic controllers
The controller route is a Level 5 apprenticeship with its own eligibility checks.
The NATS assessment process, explained
Understand the controller selection stages, programme differences and how to prepare for unfamiliar tasks.
By the Game Assessment Prep research teamUpdated September 14, 2026How we research
The NATS hiring process at a glance
- 1Online assessments — Read each invitation and its rules before beginning.Assessment details
- 2Virtual assessment centre — Prepare professional examples and research the controller role.
- 3Practical exercise — A realistic work sample explores decision-making and learning potential.Understanding the work sample
- 4Conditional offer — Medical and security clearances precede training.Campaign timing
What to expect in the NATS assessment
NATS describes a simulated airspace work sample: candidates explain their thinking through short runs and receive feedback between attempts. This creates a useful preparation priority: practice changing your approach after feedback, not merely repeating a task faster.
Good to know: No exercise on this page is presented as an exact BLADE replica. Familiarity with independent aptitude practice does not establish a NATS pass score or reproduce its assessment criteria.
Which NATS roles and programs does this guide cover?
Start by identifying the job rather than choosing a preparation pack from the employer name alone. A controller application and an engineering graduate application can require quite different preparation.
Use the published stages below to organise your work. Keep a separate note of what your invitation actually requests, particularly when an older guide describes a different exercise or venue.
Corporate graduate schemes
NATS lists a 24-month graduate scheme requiring at least a 2:2 degree. Programme areas include Safety & Cyber, People & Transformation, Finance & Analytics, and Engineering & Technology; its students page also covers placements and apprenticeships.
Source: NATS — Students and graduates
How does the NATS assessment work?
Online identity checks
Official sourceStages 1 and 2 include consent-based camera photographs and microphone monitoring.
BLADE is officially documented
Official sourceNATS announced BLADE in January 2026 after using it in Autumn 2025 recruitment. Published evaluation dimensions include safety, efficiency, task completion, situational awareness, communication and problem-solving.
Source: NATS — Digital-twin platform announcement, 19 January 2026
Earlier-test supplier unconfirmed
No evidence foundThe reviewed official guidance does not identify the aptitude-test vendor.
Older personality-questionnaire guidance
Official sourceThe 2022 exhibition FAQ mentions a personality questionnaire. This is historical detail, not confirmation of a current additional stage.
What happens in the NATS hiring process?
The published trainee-controller sequence
The current controller page specifies four assessment stages.
- 1Stage 1: eleven online tests spanning spatial awareness, logic, numeracy, direction and reaction speed.
- 2Stage 2: situational judgement and listening comprehension.
- 3Stage 3: a Teams interview, ATC knowledge test and observed retests.
- 4Stage 4: a practical exercise via Teams or at Whiteley.
What the controller work sample examines
NATS' March 2026 explanation adds detail about the practical format and learning potential.
- 1Receive the task briefing and work through realistic simulated airspace.
- 2Explain your reasoning across several short runs.
- 3Apply assessor feedback between runs; experienced controllers remain responsible for assessment decisions.
Source: NATS Blog — Innovation outside the Ops Room, 2 March 2026
The separate students and graduates process
The current careers page publishes this early-career sequence.
- 1Apply through the vacancy with your CV, experience and motivation; confirm UK work eligibility.
- 2Complete the online assessment, then await hiring-team review.
- 3If selected, attend a virtual centre, typically an interview and/or group exercise.
- 4A successful outcome leads to a conditional offer, confirmed after relevant medical and security clearances.
Source: NATS — Students and graduates
When is the NATS assessment?
Distinguish an invitation's expiry date from the time allowed inside an exercise.
| Cycle | Application dates | Likely assessment window | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Controller campaign checked September 2026 | Stages 1 and 2: 14 days each | Stage 3 from September; Stage 4 from December 2026 | Official source The page currently indicates training starts from late 2027 after medical clearance. |
| Corporate graduate recruitment | Check the next advertised vacancy | Seven days to complete the online assessment | Official source The students page showed graduate opportunities closed when reviewed, with registration for future opportunities. Source: NATS — Students and graduates |
How to prepare for the NATS assessment process
These are preparation suggestions, not disclosed NATS questions. Work on a small number of identifiable weaknesses and keep notes that show whether your approach improves.
1. Make accuracy measurable
Try short independent numeracy and spatial-reasoning exercises. Separate misread rules from calculation errors and rushed clicks. Repeat a comparable set after changing one habit, such as checking orientation before answering; a higher raw score without fewer repeated mistakes is less informative.
2. Practice precise listening
Use an unfamiliar spoken explanation, then summarise its sequence and constraints without replaying it. Compare your summary with the original. Notice whether you lose numbers, reverse an instruction or fill gaps with assumptions, then target that error in the next session.
3. Learn visibly from feedback
Ask a practice partner to change one rule in an ordinary planning exercise. Explain your revised decision and check its consequence. Practice acknowledging a correction briefly, applying it and returning attention to the task; lengthy self-defence makes it harder to demonstrate improvement.
4. Prepare the right professional examples
For controller preparation, reflect on staying composed, reporting a mistake and coordinating under time pressure. For a corporate scheme, connect examples to the advertised discipline. State your own actions and their result, including what you would change, instead of relying on a general claim that you work well in teams.
NATS assessment FAQ
Should graduate applicants prepare for BLADE?
The evidence here links that work sample to controller recruitment. Start with your graduate scheme's instructions before spending time on controller-specific preparation.
How long do I have to finish the NATS online assessments?
The controller stages have fourteen-day completion windows each. The separate corporate early-career page gives seven days for its online assessment; these are deadlines, not test durations.
Does NATS officially identify Aon or FEAST as its current test provider?
The official sources reviewed do not establish that attribution. Follow the supplier and test descriptions in your own invitation instead of transferring another air-navigation employer’s process.
How do I identify my assessment provider?
Use the named platform and support links in your invitation. Do not assume the supplier from another employer's recruitment guide.
Sources and references
The sources below support this guide. Claim labels distinguish official information, candidate reports, and research inferences.
- Trainee Air Traffic Controllers
NATS · Accessed
- Students and graduates
NATS · Accessed
- Early Careers 2022: How will I be assessed?
NATS · Accessed
- NATS unveils digital-twin platform for air traffic controller recruitment
NATS · Accessed
- Innovation outside the Ops Room – how we're evolving air traffic controller recruitment
NATS Blog · Accessed
Game Assessment Prep is independent and is not affiliated with NATS or its assessment providers. Employer processes can change by program, role, country, and recruiting cycle. Follow your invitation over this guide. This guide was reviewed on . Claims are labeled by evidence strength. How we research and label claims.
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