Sq Training Bond /bank Guarantee Straight Talk
Straight skinny on the training bond arrangement with SQ (my numbers relate to my contract, however the principle will be the same).
Training Bond total you sign is for S$142,000. Your liability lineraly reduces on a pro rated monthly basis (S$2367 / month) over 60 months once you have COMPLEATED YOUR INITIAL LINE CHECK (read not from date of joining. Training takes forever!). Bank guarantee in the amount of S$56,000 is part of the S$142,000, not in addition to. This amount you must place on deposit in a bank in Singapore within two weeks of joining (along with all the legal letters that SQ will supply for you AND which you must use). If you default on the bond (leave early), the company immediately exercises its right to these funds and applies it to your bond liability. So, if you leave late in your term, you may owe less than this amount and will receive the balance due you.
The gratuity of S$10,000 per year that they pay you if you stick it out is further financial pressure/incentive to encourage you to stay.
I've made the statement that this bond amount is exorbitant and bears no relation to SQs actual training cost. As a perspective, Alteon training in Seattle will provide you training for a B-744 type rating on your ATPL for approximately US$12,500 and done in four weeks.
None of this was an issue for me before joining because I naively believed the advertisements and verbal statements made to me regarding my compensation and working conditions. I also naively believed that I would be treated with professional respect. Had my experience mirrored these expectations, the bond arrangement was/would have been ok with me.
They will ask you at the interview if you have any questions about the bonding arrangement. We are all human and all will have a reticence in asking to much about this because many will feel it will have a negative impact on one's being offered employment. I don't think that is a misguided concern.
So again, think long and hard before signing such an agreement. Ask yourself if you would as cavalierly enter into a similar financial arrangment in other areas of your life. Once offered employment, request a copy of the bonding agreement and the full contract terms/conditions. If going to mainline, contact ALPA-S and get a copy of their CA. If going to Cargo, go online to CAAS (Singapore's FAA/JAA) and look at the flight time limitations. This will give you guidance on how "hard" you will work and what they can do to you.
Again, Singapore itself is very nice, food great, safe, people friendly and easy to acclimate for you/family. That's the only thing that has kept me here this long (2 plus years), despite the overall negative experience with the company. But it's not enough to keep me here for 5 1/2 years.
PQ