How is a cadet background any different to any other TC background when faced with a big deck for the first time?
You train, then you do, then you train more. In SAR you hope on every mission that the training has prepared you sufficiently for the task you are faced with and have to be prepared to be adaptable and inventive when it hasn't.
Yes and the current TC were (mainly) trained in the military with hours to burn for all that preparation for the nasty jobs.
Just how much live training, especially in difficult conditions, will the cadets get before they are let out by themselves? Just how much non-revenue flying will be dedicated to their progression?
I'm not saying the right candidate won't be capable, just that seeing it for real the first time could be a real eye-opener.