I dont think it is any secret that moral at Oxford at the moment is at an all time low. 25% pay cut, no partner airlines and an APP scheme that is not looking like it will do as it promised.
The main problem being that many training providers now are getting you a type rating. Oxford are not set up to do so and dont market themselves this way. Whether Oxford like it or not they are seen as a small part of the process of pilot training from an airlines perspective. I believe the pressure is on the OATS to perform financially from their owners who want a return on the huge investment they have made.
Again I dont think it is any secret Rod Wren left OATS taking with him their training manual for CTC and set up CTC-McAlpine(McAlpine helicopters are next door to OATS). This is very similar to the APP scheme but has partners and is doing OK. I would be VERY peeved off if I had paid for APP only to find out they have brought it out with 'all the frills cut off' and you Just get Mike Taylor for your extra cash fighting your corner He is a nice guy, but completley out of touch with the industry.
That coupled with the fact they buy 3 sims that are a very poor representation of the aircraft (they are king airs, kitted out with Seneca dials) and yet you do 40 hours of a 55 hour course on them. Mechtronix are, of course, no-where to be seen when they go wrong!!
All in all, I dont think they will fold, but certainly without the sponsorship they used to get going through there paying all their fixed costs they are in for some lean times and will need to shape up or change their business model to provide training right to type rating, but then you need an airline to specify that....and they dont have any at the moment!
Who knows where BA will go when they finally hire ab-initio again, but it would seem CTC's product is more established and lower cost considering they can type rate them afterwards....