I suggest the time it takes the Cadet program to 'pump out a qualified airline pilot', however 'loosely' you are using that term, is the length of the Cadet programme plus however long it is until any individual passes his/her initial JFO line check.
Please kindly tell me how long you think it takes.
You want to know the time from Cadet to JFO? I think this probably takes ages at CX but quicker at other airlines. This is probably due to the fact that CX keep their S/O for like 3 years (probably to save the company money on long haul). I think Dragon Air cadets are all flying qualify S/O after their cadet training and training in HK. After another year or so as an S/O, they become F/O (I donno do they have JFO or not). I think it is similar at SQ and CI.