Mooney 12, I can only assume your friend was on the CTC ATP scheme as only 1 course of CTC Mcalpine sponsored cadets has started their type rating so far - and all of the first 10 courses were pre-sponsored. So no-one has so far had to wait any time for a job.
Caracul, the intermediate stage is 3 weeks. I think 6 months refers to the hold pool for the ATP scheme.
Cheers