Its a tough one alright. The job market has been strong as pointed out by a previous poster but I don't think it will remain so. In fact if you ignore the likes of RYR who are constantly recruiting then most other airlines have already recruited for the current year. In particular Aer Lingus and BMI have taken quite a few newbies but as far as I am aware have closed off recruitment. Then there is the odd merger impacting on some of the charters which puts their recruitment plans up in the air.
By the time you finish your training it will be 18 months or more away. Most of the major European carriers are noting a softening of loads when people should be jetting away on their holidays and interest rates continue to rise. The politicians are trying to take everyones eye off the ball by making an issue out of greenhouse gases and your carbon footprint whereas we should all be asking questions about the state of the economy and inflation levels. This all leads me to think that we are in for a wee correction which nearly always impacts on the aviation industry.
With the above in mind you might be better placed not being in the training mix as anecdotal evidence would suggest that most of the guys that are recruited out of the integrated schools tend to be in the right place at the right time when the recruiters come along not to mention having jumped through various hoops to get put forward in the first place.
So what to do? Well if there are few jobs going when you graduate then I guess being integrated has to help. Having said that you will need to be top of the pile and in the right place/school etc. Then again if you took the other job you would be earning money, be meeting the right sorts of people and of course would have an insight into where the jobs are. Not to mention the benefits that a career would give you in terms of maturity and being able to answer all those tough interview questions that really only can be given credence with a bit of the rich tapestry of lifes experiences.
Go for the tests at least because afterall that might make your decision easier. Also what about taking the GAPAN tests as well and getting an independent opinion on your skills and ability? Good luck on your decision.