If you've decided that integrated is the way to go at his age, I would then recommend that he take a gap year to work full-time if he's not already working. It will help massively with his personal development, as it did with mine, particularly if it's public-facing. I got rejected from so many jobs, but the interview practice along the way was definitely useful. I understand he'll also need something to discuss during the airline interviews later on. Twelve months really is not a big deal and will go by so quickly. He'll save up a fair bit for his flying, type rating or maybe just lots of kebabs with his friends. Unfortunately, these soft skills aren't taught at school, and he's only 17. All that said, he needs to sort out his class 1 ASAP if he hasn't already.