Have modular and integrated students really been given the same opportunity to show off their skills/training aptitude
Yes, BA did take some modular students in the 90s, who trained with integrated students. There were quite large problems in some instances in having to provide extra hours base training in order to get those students up to speed. Now BA have been known to take modular students in the current day and age as well, but they are highly discriminating as they don't have time to provide extra hours to those whose ability is not of the same standard as others with whom they are training.
I am not an integrated student, however I am well-versed with the facts of the above case.
You can pay for a type rating and even hours on type, but the risk now is to you and paid for from your pocket. Arguably the talent and spare mental capacity of such students may still be lower than for other whom have been selected - be it GAPAN or for integrated courses - but the crucial point is that much does rest with ability, proven capacity to cope with intensive courses, and having been selected.
Now I know that many can prove me wrong as say that airline x has taken many from a modular background, but when you are BA or another top tier airline for whom most would rationally, ultimately want to work, then you can afford to be very picky.
On this and other forums, more experienced wannabe’s (most who had a PPL) were complaining about such schemes saying they did not have any regard for people who have a proven love for this career. Having spent in the region of 6k to prove their love for flying they would be disheartened by the fact that these schemes always seemed to specify an upper limit on the number of hours.
1) Proven love of anything is no indicator of ability. Otherwise a lot of teenagers would be rock stars.
2) Excessive hours after PPL without being under a course of instruction is proven to lead to a lowering of ability - hence it being known as the death zone.
And that is that snobbery and self-righteousness are still alive and well in aviation.
As I said recently on another thread relating again to BA, those children of BA staff were in fact far less likely to be successful at interview and selection than those of a non-BA background. Go figure - there is no old boys network worth a mention in the UK of which I am at all aware.
I’ve played the game, did nothing wrong at all
But fools with the 'love' but untested ability have ploughed ahead in obtaining debt financing for integrated and modular courses, flooding the market and ensuring that airlines no longer have to be quite so careful to nurture future talent.
Welcome to the marketplace.