I would like to say how impressed i was when i heard of the Scheme the Government of Bahrain has came up with, to address the pilot shortage issue in the ME,
Bahrain Development Bank and Gulf Air, both owned by the government investment company called MUMTALAKAT, started to offer student loans for cadet pilots.
as we know that getting your flying license will cost know a days over 100,000$, which is a lot of money that not many can afford, just to get started.
with an interest rate of not more than 3.5% offered by the bank, they managed to attract more people to apply.
more locals are attracted to the job now with the new packages being offered.
the government is hoping to reach to a stage where they can export bahraini pilots to the rest of the region, by which they will be addressing 2 issues, 1- the pilot shortage for their own national carrier.
2- creating more jobs for their people.
I know this will not address the issue of experienced pilots but its a start.
you have to start somewhere to get the experiance.......