CX Standardisation
Heavy wrench there is NOT a major problem with standardisation at Cathay.
Believe it or not the trainers / checkers and flight operations management are out to get the people through. We do ask ourselves if we teach and get the message across. The company is also looking hard at its courses and career development structure. It IS making changes!
Unfortunately there is a vocal minority who pontificate about things mostly with second or third hand knowledge and we will never be able to convince them otherwise.
The Command course pass rate is now averaging 70% and it is only that low because of the very bad "blip" in the first three months of the year, which is dragging the percentage down. You also cannot use the argument that everyone must pass the Command Course just because that that is how it happens in the US or wherever. Yes the system may be have been partially at fault (different experience levels / backgrounds than what had been the "usual" Cathay Candidate - and that is NOT trying to say the people subsequently hired are not as good as before), but that has now been addressed. The build up to the course is different and the course itself has been modified. The company does not want to waste money!
It is unfortunate your friends have turned down Cathay due to "perceptions", if that was the real reason, as the only way to really know is join.
Going back to the beginning of the year and the high fail rate, most of that could be laid at the company door using your arguments. In other words perhaps the recruitment was not ideal, perhaps they should not have been given a "go", perhaps their development had not been thorough enough. Perhaps the candidate preparation although good did not concentrate on the "correct" areas and counter to your argument sometimes it is just the candidate. People DO make mistakes, it is how many, how often and more importantly how are they corrected - dealt with!! If the rest of the flight falls apart then error recovery is NOT good.
The "star chamber" has to take all these things into consideration and they have a huge responsibility not just to the candidate but to the travelling public. Cathay operates worldwide and in many "hostile" environments where TEM is vitally important.
Life is hard and sometimes you have to take the knocks, anyone who has had any time in aviation realises that. Nothing is a given and if people want an easy tick the box career, then they picked the wrong one with aviation.