I have been following this thread with interest.
I am 1 of approximately 25 Captains and First Officers affectively made redundant in October due to base closures in the UK. The company blamed its actions on poor forward bookings due to Mr Beans Air PAX duty, BAA PAX handling charge and fuel price increases. This is not to mention nearly 200 cabin crew that lost their jobs to. Draw your own conclusions, but it is a fact that this winter will difficult time for some operators and will be make or break. On a positive note all of the flight deck had new jobs within 30 days, however our move sideways into other company's stops people at the bottom of the food chain moving up.
And no sponsor, with all due respect, would you really spend an extra 30K on your training on the of chance you "MIGHT" get a shot at an interview to work for one of Europes most stagnant airlines? Think about what you just said? I think your statement equals commercial suicide.
For example, just finished ground school with my new company, half the group was direct entry pilots, the other half 200hr cadets. All the cadets were a decent bunch of guys having to pay for there own initial type ratings, from what I could gather none of them had pots of cash, all training financed. Probably 15% of the cadets were integrated background, now, if I was in that 15% I would be feeling pretty embarassed that I'd spent all that extra money to get the same job as everyone else. Thats not to mention the fact I may have been sent by the school to the USA and been milked to death by the fact they are raking it in with the $2 pound..................i'd be asking for a discount.
Im with other posters, people should carry on training but need to understand that interest charges will eat you alive. Make use of the strong pound while it lasts and dont blow all your budget on initial training - budget after training to stay current, get your first job etc!