There are other alternatives available for those trying to get into the airlines.
Astraeus, in cooperation with Bond Aviation seems to have a good scheme as well. A B737 type rating followed by line experience on type. A number of F/O's at easyJet have gone that route.
When on the subject of CTC, money making machine is a good description rather than that of a quality training institute. Good training is not really something CTC excels in, I keep hearing reports from F/O's about how pilots are not being properly trained and instructed, just being checked and chopped without proper prior instruction, coaching and guidance.
One guy was not allowed to do the skill test (type rating) because he did not make good landings in the sim....
Like the sim is anything like the real airplane...
One extra session would have been sufficient to get this guy through.
Another guy, a very experienced former commuter training captain, told me he would rather resign from easyJet than do his command course at CTC because of the way people there are being treated there.
Another F/O told me when doing his first ever emergency descent in a 737 (without being given any type of coaching or run-through of the required actions in the descent), all the instructor managed to say to him and his sim partner was: "That wasn't good enough"
Fortunately, their next instructor actually taught them something and they both managed (..) to get through the course and are now on the line with easyJet.
Some of the trainers at CTC are ok but it really concerns me to hear so many stories of poor or non-existent training, instead just checking, checking, checking and if you are unlucky, chopping. I could mention many more examples.
As the people who get through are just happy to have landed a jet job, they will not make any waves by criticising CTC publicly. The people that did get chopped don't have many legs to stand on as CTC will always be able to make them look worse if the badmouth CTC. They still need to get a jet job and can not afford to make enemies in the small airline world.
I really feel for these guys.
That said, many will be quite happy with CTC having made it through to the right seat of a jet.
A bit more training and coaching for the cadets by the CTC instructors instead of just checking and chopping would be a step in the right direction.