Paying a great deal of money for training is nothing new - it amazes me how many people think that all problems are an affliction only of their generation, and nothing bad ever happened to those who went before them!
Flying training to ATPL has always been extremely expensive, and the lucky ones who got sponsorships have always been in the very small minority. Paying for type ratings is not new either; it was very common in the late '80s and early '90s when I was first looking at obtaining a commercial flying job. And even those lucky BA Cadets of yore effectively paid for their training and ratings through a reduced salary, just like the CTC cadets do now.
As for hose and his like, it's a great shame they didn't research the market a little more thoroughly before shelling out their £70K+; the contention that the APP course (and similar) would be over-hyped and under-achieving was aired here many times when it was first announced, along with much more information about Oxford's 'career' department and its lack of results.
The fact is, as in every year since before I was born (and that's a long time ago) there have been more people wanting to fly for a living than there can possibly be jobs for them to go to. The training industry has always known this so, like all commerce, it has used semi-promises, guile and art to attract more moths to the flame while being somewhat economic with the truth of what any job prospects might be. Consequently, a higher proportion of graduates of these schools than any of you would be comfortable with never end up flying for a living. It's a fact; get used to it.
How many fATPLs are currently looking? I don't know - no one knows how many that have a non-lapsed licence have given up or are only casually looking, but I'd guess that the estimate of 2000 may be in the right ballpark. At the high end, may be, but there or thereabouts.
It all goes to reinforce what we've been saying here for years: this is a bloody difficult field to get into, and you may well not make it. To maximise your chances you must research the market a carefully as you can, using sites like Pprune, and you must budget all the way to that first job. It's not enough to fork out your £70k and then just hope the jobs will come to you - they won't
Scroggs