b'750 total employees350 Air Traffic ControllersA Day in the Life of an120 EngineersAir Traffic Controller 125 Air Traffic Assistants 155 specialist/support functionsHi, my names Fenella and for the past eight years Ive been an Air Traffic Controller at NATS Prestwick. Heres how I got the job, what I do and why I love it.How I qualified to be a controllerOnline and face-to-face assessments.1 year initial training at Air Traffic Control College in Whiteley, near Southampton.8 months operational training at NATS Prestwick, firstly on the simulator, before training on live traffic. After validating, like every controller, I went on to learn further sectors of airspace. What a controller doesOur role is to ensure aircraft can navigate through UK airspace safely and efficiently. Every day I deal with different situations, a mix of aircraft, people, problems to solve, weather situations and external agencies. The most challenging part of the job can be the complexity and amount of traffic I can be working on at one time. How long we workAir traffic control is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so we all work on a shift pattern. The average shift is 8 hours, and we work 6 days on, 4 off. Why I enjoy being a controllerThe training and working environment is super and its great to be a part of this team of people. I honestly cant think of anything I dont enjoy about being a controller. Its an amazing, rewarding job like no other, where you get to put all the skills youve been trained in, into practice every day of your career.36'