daveyp,
Unfortunately, a training scheme where a place with an airline is guaranteed at the end of it does not exist and never has done.
Even in the days of the BA Sponsored Pilot Training Scheme (where at least you didn’t have to make any advanced financial contribution to your training) you would only be offered a place subject to meeting required standards and the business need at the time.
However, the CTC Wings Programme in my view gives you the highest-if not as high a-chance of airline placement than any other scheme that I’m aware of in Europe. (I hear that Air France still run a sponsored training programme, although I don’t have any details and I’d guess fluency in French would be a basic requirement). I better declare that I have recently successfully completed the selection process for the Wings Programme, so I don’t want to sound biased
. I will however justify myself with the following key point. The Wings Programme has placed 100% of cadets who have successfully completed the training course.
How do they achieve this?
1) The course has been tailored in consultation with the partner airlines. E.g. you aren’t just trained to basic JAA requirements but as airline pilots and team players right from the start.
2) The selection process is challenging and ensures that the right candidates get through. I.e. you have to work to join them, they are not working to get you to join them (as is with most flight schools… $$). The airlines recognise this and it supports the high rate of success on the programme.
3) The course is fully integrated (you can theoretically start with no experience) and gives you line orientated experience on type (most other courses to not integrate type experience).
4) The course provides you with 30% more than the minimum JAA flight training requirements. (Including 50% more on multi-engine).
5) The ground school record is excellent. They currently average at a 99% first time pass rate with average marks of 91%.
6) The very fact that the partner airlines are receiving Wings cadets who are both highly motivated and highly trained, can only be signalling to them and others that this scheme is highly successful. It’s obvious what their reaction to this will be!
7) The course is a partnership between the airlines, CTC, its instructors and the cadets. It’s not a school that say... gets you your licences and will see if it can find you/help you to get a place with ‘an’ airline.
8) At the moment, airlines are demanding as much if not more than what can be supplied in terms of pilots being trained in this way.
I could list more reasons but I’ve rabbited on for ages already. I would also add that another important reason that attracted me to the course was the innovative way in which it is financed (as I’m not that wealthy!). However, even if you have the circumstance whereby you can fund the training without the assistance of a bank, CTC is still the best place to start!
I’ve added a couple of links that you might find useful (if you haven’t picked them up already).
http://www.ctcaviation.com/wings/040204.html
http://www.ctcaviation.com/wings/0404.html
http://www.ctcaviation.com/0103.html (read the .pdf doc by Steve Billet, he might be an executive director of the company but in my view it sums up all the issues surrounding the culture of pilot training; past, present and future).
I’d also suggest that you have a read of this thread and others. There is a fair whack of misinformation and general chat but you’ll find some useful stuff as well. You’ll know what’s what.
Good luck and all the best.
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