LookinDown and *Lancer* - fair points. You both seem to have an insight into the inner workings of the cadetship so could u or anyone else explain the original reason for introducing the 2 years of industry experience? I understand that in the past cadets generally started straight after their training so therefore they get a seniority number from then. But obviously if QF have said "for reasons a, b and c these cadets need some real experience" then surely that is just an extension of their training before they start with Qantas?
I agree with QF introducing the industry experience but think it weakens the argument for the existence of the cadetship over hiring from the vast direct entry pool of military/regionals/GA etc. Afterall the cadet at the moment is someone who has passed the 59 QF aptitude & psych tests, plus has 2 years of industry experience, which sounds pretty similar to a direct entry candidate...
At the end of the day, QF management can generally do what they want, when they want. However the subsequent frustration and ill-feeling of the troops is something they either don't consider or simply don't care about (ill-feeling not towards the cadets but towards the system in place, the management who introduced it and the union who agreed to it)...