Take CAUTION when thinking of getting trained here. I have many colleagues who are on the active hold who haven't gone anywhere in over a year. They graduate a new course every 5 weeks and overall hundreds get added to this "active hold file" many not going anywhere. It is just a marketing tool (over promising, knowing they'll never hire) for FTA to pump sausages out. The theme is that ex students who only graduated within months before, teach the next wave of students. It is hard for FTA students to get jobs within the GA industry as operators know they are on the active hold and unlikely to hire them due to experience in a diamond. You end up with a $135,000ish HECS with terrible prospects. Son or daughters of qantas pilots get unfavoured treatment during hiring process, with their parents sneaking them in for simulator sessions on the exact simulator they do the actual recruitment process in. So its an unfair assessment. If you are a child of a qantas group pilot though not that bad of an option as they get pulled off the active hold by internal politics and phone calls between staff and recruitment even if they have lower assessment criteria than others. 2 of my friends made the active hold one a qantas child with lower assessment results and flight training/exam results than the non qantas child, and the qantas child got pulled in immediately.
I tried building hours with a GA operator but couldn't hack the disrespect and lack of appreciation for hard work in the industry. Went back to IT earning as much as a mainline FO with a much better lifestyle, less stress and flying as a hobby instead. If you really want to pursue it, I'd recommend going to a smaller flight school, who take the time with you, you are able to network with GA operators at the same time. Possibly flight schools that are combined with a charter company. Get an older instructor who has spent years in a GA and actually teaches you the commercial side of things.