Feast Test

The First European ATCO ATCO Selection Test (FEAST) service provides a cost-effective set of tools to assist recruiters with selecting the most suitable candidate for ATC ATC training The service also  provides full implementation support and a helpdes! service to air navigation services and training providers The FEAST service is currentl" in use in more than #$ European civil and militar" organisations %t assesses the !nowledge& s!ills and abilities of applicants for the ATCO ATCO 'ob The aim is to improve the ualit" of selection decisions& contribute to the cost efficienc" of the overall recruitment and selection process and to increase the success rate in training Since the release of  FEAST in $$#& more than #$&$$$ air traffic controller candidates have been tested using the FEAST tool  The tests are delivered over the %nternet in a wa" that enables users u sers to carr" out online testing of applicants in a secure and confidential wa" wa" Tests Tests are administered and mar!ed automaticall" and the results are stored in a central database that users can consult at all times  *icence agreements and non-disclosure agreements with users govern access to FEAST For more information please e-mail the FEAST service team at feast-service+eurocontrolint feast-service+eurocontrolint  As of , st of anuar" $,. FEAST is provided sub'ect to a /ser-0a"s-0rinciple 1 the license agreement is based on a fee per tested candidate  To support the use and administration of FEAST b" its users& the %nstitute offers training courses for users and for administrators as a prereuisite to accreditation 2efresher training is also available

FEAST test The First European Air Traffic Traffic Controller Selection Test (FEAST) is a test used b" the European air traffic control organisation (Eurocontrol (Eurocontrol) ) %t was created for those wishing to become air traffic controllers and controllers and aids selection of suitable candidates According to Eurocontrol& the test  pac!age is used b" ## civil or militar" Air 3avigation Service 0roviders (A3S0s) and ATC training institutes in Eurocontrol member states 0articipation is possible for applicants with citi4enship in a member state of Eurocontrol (Albania& Armenia& Austria& 5elgium& 5osnia and 6er4egovina& 5ulgaria& Croatia& C"prus& the C4ech 2epublic& 7enmar!& Finland& France&

8erman"& 8reece& 6ungar"& %reland& %tal"& *ithuania& *u9embourg& :acedonia& :alta& :oldova& :onaco& the 3etherlands& 3orwa"& 0oland& 0ortugal& 2omania& Serbia& Slova!ia& Slovenia& Spain& Sweden& Swit4erland& Tur!e"& /!raine and the /nited ;ingdom) The development of FEAST began in $$$ and was finall" finished in $$# At that time& Eurocontrol was Europe
Content  3earl" all parts of the FEAST test consist of multiple choice uestions The test contains uestions related to the following> 

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%n a coordinate s"stem& aircraft are represented as dots 6ori4ontall"& lines are called ?A& 5& C& 7& and E&@ and verticall"& ?,& & & #& .@ For e9ample& the dot C is where the lines ?C@ and @@ cross Each suare has a length of ,$ The directions are depicted in a circle and are represented in degrees (out of B$) Applicants are to estimate the distance  between an aircraft and a given dot& as well as the new heading a plane must face turning to the left or to the right to get to a certain given point %n the coordinate s"stem& man" dots and planes can be seen& but the relevant ones must be found uic!l" 2efle9 action test> %n the so-called ?ball on the wall test@& applicants must push a button when  moving ob'ects (a ball and a line or wall) collide Eventuall" the screen is divided into  parts& reuiring concentration on  collisions Finall"& # parts are simultaneousl" seen& and one
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A number& consisting of . to B digits& is spo!en (in English) and this should be remembered 3umbers are put into a sentence (multiple choices) - the content of the sentence is unimportant onl" the number is relevantDcitation needed  %n the English section (which some air traffic control organisations do not see as important& compared with other features of the FEAST test) there are  sections The ,st  part is to listen to a sentence& which is interrupted with a beep-tone Applicants then choose the word (from the choice offered) which is the closest in meaning to the sentence The nd part is the ?whole comprehension@ of English A stor" is told& after which some uestions are as!ed For e9ample& one stor" deals with a controller& who gave the wrong order ?runwa" cleared for ta!e-off@ to the pilot& who almost collided with a vehicle transporting !erosene The aeroplane missed the vehicle b" inches The lorr" driver suffered an acute stress reaction and a ps"chological assessment was needed Another stor" deals with birds living near airports and animal protectors replacing their eggs with artificial ones The rd part is onl" one sentence& the content of which can be described in another wa" For e9ample& in one sentence& someone had paid debts in .  pa"ments of $ The multiple choice answer ?6e paid $@ is& of course& wrong The right answer would be& ?6e paid ,$$@ %n the landing instructions& applicants have to guide some aircraft to the ground Some of the displa"ed runwa"s are closed The  numbers to the right of the aircraft represent the identification number of the aircraft (on the top) and its speed (on the bottom) The arrow on the runwa" means that aircraft must land from this direction Gia some dots& which the aircraft has to pass& applicants have some choices to direct the aircraft down to the runwa" The rules are> slower aircraft must give wa" to faster aircraft no overfl"ing of an" runwa" and an" crossing of the route of an" other aircraft is forbidden 6owever& sometimes a message occurs that selected aircraft have a higher  priorit"& even if the" are slow in their speed or that some aircraft above a certain speed are not allowed to land or that a certain aircraft must land immediatel" There is a short time limit to complete this e9ercise %n a lengthl" reaction test& applicants have to sort some shapes On the bottom part of the screen is a small !e"board& on which there are some shapes (triangle& circle& diamond& suare& etc) Suddenl" a shape appears on the top part of the screen The applicant is given appro9imatel" , second to push the button corresponding to the shape displa"ed Sometimes an instruction appears to sort particular shapes in another wa" (for e9ample& if  "ou see a triangle& sort it as a suare) Sometimes the shapes must be sorted b" their colour & independent of the shape itself Again& there are also sometimes instructions to sort it differentl" (for e9ample& all red circles must be sorted as blue ob'ects) Ger" often  beside the displa"ed shape on the top part of the screen& another shape can be seen %f  both shapes are the same& applicants must press the ?same@ button& irrespective of the

colour or the figure This HsameH command overrules all other instructions regarding sorting of the shapes The nd part of this is the same as the ,st& but instead using numbers rather than shapes For e9ample& when the number #= is displa"ed& it must be sorted into one categor" - this would be sorted into ?$-II@ 6owever& this e9ercise also develops as time passes for e9ample& if the sum of the digits of the number displa"ed is greater than ,$& it must be sorted as if it were in the categor" ?$$-$$@& and so forth 

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%n the cube test& the applicant 7A2T (7"namic ATC 2adar Test) The 7A2T Test reuires applicants to guide aircraft safel" and efficientl" through a s"stem of  chec!points ta!ing certain traffic constraints into consideration Kou can find more information b" accessing the lin! in the E9ternal *in!s section

Some air traffic control organisations now add additional tests& for e9ample a special reaction test or detection of a figure (a house) out of a muddle of lines

Result A result is given directl" after the test& or via a letter& e-mail or phone call These results are computed b" the central computer of Eurocontrol in 5russels (each candidate is connected with this computer via internet) The score reuired to proceed to the ne9t round of selection differs from one air traffic control organisation to another %f a candidate has alread" successfull"  participated in a FEAST test& Eurocontrol offers a special certificate for tr"ing it again elsewhere Each compan" has a different opinion of whether an applicant is allowed to tr" the test again or not According to the rules of Eurocontrol& unsuccessful applicants must wait  "ears before a second attempt

Criticism and commendation of the FEAST test Although B member states of Eurocontrol use the FEAST test& it is not as popular elsewhere One criticism& for e9ample& is that two relevant test features which an air traffic controller must  possess are missing> left-right coordination and mental arithmetic Another criticism of the FEAST test refers to the English part of the FEAST test> some national air traffic control organisations add (after a successful FEAST test) an oral English test (a conversation with a native English spea!ing air traffic controller) The results of this oral English test are euivalent to the so-called H%CAO *evel # English ;nowledge 2euirementHD,& which ever" pilot and air traffic controller must have 0eople who obtain relativel" low scores in the English part of the FEAST test often pass this second English test easil" and one can doubt how ob'ective the English part of the FEAST test actuall" is On the other hand the FEAST test is seen to be a ver" fair test> if this test is ta!en directl" at Eurocontrol& all travel e9penses and costs of hotels are reimbursed& as far as the applicant
7A2T Test e9plained http>LLwwweurocontrolintLservicesLfeast

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Freel" accessible tests of 7utch air traffic control (in 7utch)

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Freel" accessible tests of /; air traffic control

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Freel" accessible tests of the Swiss airforce

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FEAST First European Air Traffic Controller Selection Test

The First European Air Traffic Controller Selection Test (FEAST) assesses the !nowledge& s!ills and abilities of applicants for Air Traffic Control (ATC) training that are relevant and necessar" for the ATCO 'ob

FEAST Service is currentl" used b" ## organi4ations Some .$$$ candidates have completed the FEAST selection tests since the start of the FEAST Service FEAST is available to>

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civil and militar" Air 3avigation Service 0roviders (A3S0s) certified ATC aviation training academies and universities

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users of E/2OCO3T2O* member states and

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organisations outside Europe

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The FEAST test pac!age> 

consists of  modules>

, ,> a set of cognitive tests and an English language test  > an ATC wor! sample tests  > the FEAST 0ersonalit" Muestionnaire (F0M) 

is a professional state-of-the-art web-based testing tool

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improves the ualit" of selection decision ma!ing b" ATC recruiters

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contributes to the cost efficienc" of the overall recruitment and selection process and

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helps to increase the success rate of ATC trainees

How does it work ?

ob applicants ta!e the tests at the premises of accredited FEAST users All 'ob applicant data and test results are !ept securel" and confidentiall" and are accessed and used onl" b" the A3S0 or training institute to whom the" belong /sers are given full training and familiarisation before the" are accredited to use FEAST Outputs

The %nstitute offers>

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courses for new users and administrators as a prereuisite to accreditation refresher training for accredited users

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specific training on the F0M and how to use the results in an interview

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Addressed user needs

% want to run selection tests to recruit Air Traffic Controllers 5eneficiaries> Air navigation service providers& Air traffic controllers& Airports& %nternational and State bodies& :edia& :ilitar"& 0ilots& 0olic"-ma!ers& 0rofessional associations& 2egulators& Students

Assistance to FEAST users

E/2OCO3T2O* provides the following complementar" support and assistance>

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Full user support in the planning& customisation and implementation of FEAST (consultation& co-ordination and technical advice user and administrator training) A centralised and secure infrastructure managed b" E/2OCO3T2O* to provide customer support and maintenance (on-going technical support of the FEAST platform and the FEAST database)

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A helpdes! constantl" available during business hours

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/ser driven enhancement and improvement of the test pac!age (development and validation of the tests) Facilitation of the FEAST /ser 8roup (F/8)& a networ! of recruitment and training managers from the A3S0s and ATC training institutes that use FEAST

FEAST User roup

Accredited users are invited to participate in the activities of the FEAST /ser 8roup (F/8) which meets once a "ear The" therefore have a formal means of providing user feedbac! to the service team& to initiate discussion on current recruitment issues and to participate in decisions The F/8 provides a valuable means of regularl" networ!ing with other professionals Contact

For further information "ou ma" contact the service manager or email the FEAST service team  Marc Damitz 

 EUROCONTROL focal point - FEAST service manager  Send an email   Phone ! "#$ %" &' &( $%"

FEAST /ser Training DFEAST-/SE2 7escription> The FEAST /ser course refers to the decision-ma!ers in the organi4ation recruitment process FEAST /sers need to be aware of the method used in generating the scores and interpretation and be sufficientl" familiar with FEAST in order to be able to ta!e recruitment decisions The course provides a detailed !nowledge of the FEAST s"stem& understanding of ps"chometrics& test interpretation and the use of test results The use and interpretation of FEAST ,& FEAST 7A2T and :/*T%-0ASS is covered in this course This accreditation training provides>NNN A basic !nowledge of ps"chometrics and its use in testing for recruitment and selection  purposesNNN A bac!ground in the histor" of the tests usedNNN %nformation on the specific aspects of ab initio trainee controller selection and recruitment issues such as v alidationThe course is suitable for staff who is newl" appointed to a FEAST role and also for accredited FEAST /sers who would li!e to follow a refresher courseThe FEAST /ser training course is a common training suitable for both the current FEAST software platform and 2O:A 7uration> , 7a"