Originally Posted by
VariablePitchP
Pre-Covid the sponsorships were definitely few and far between, BA did some and Virgin did a tiny amount of actually funded ones. Bit of loan repayments etc so not as good as the ones of past.
But since Covid, imagine spurred on by the post brexit issues for people with right to work, EASA vs CAA license considerations to consider, it’s been phenomenal.
Many hundreds of fully funded courses. No loans, no nonsense, fully funded courses. Jet2, TUI, BA, rumours of Wizz. And in the hundreds. Add them all up I’d say there’s about 300 of them a year, exceeding I’d imagine the entire throughput of the UK military’s flying training system.
They’re very hard to get, as they should be, but it does feel like we’re in a similar situation to the pre Gulf War 1 environment for sponsorships and hiring.
If I was advising someone leaving school, leaving uni, considering flying as a career, I’d be filling them with enthusiasm, a fantastic time to consider it!
Downside T&Cs at airlines continue to slip. Working environments getting harder with shorter rest periods and it's becoming a career almost impossible to continue full time until retirement.
If you're lucky enough to get a foot in the door at many other professional industries (not all). They've had massive pay increases and are on par with aviation now, large bonuses are returning + the new normal for a bit (significant chunk at some places) of WFH makes many look like very attractive perspectives compared to the antisocial hours and declining T&Cs in aviation.
If I was advising a young adult keen on flying I'd say get a job outside aviation but encourage them to enjoy it as a hobby with a PPL.