However, if you put a contract for employment at the start of the same integrated course, that may change my view…. (there are still some sponsored/funded courses out there).
If you are thinking about Netjets/OAT then I would be very surprised if this sees another 6 months, NJE have always made no bones about the fact that they likea good mix of GA Corporate people and full blown airline pilots the mix suits there business model of being a private airline.
The Zoom/Futura/XL guys will be first in the queue if they can afford to wait the 18 months to the LHS. They will see it as attractive because they can use their existing bases as gateways to work and won't need to move house. Many airline guys i think "quite fancy" NJE and the varied lifestyle it provides, in the light of nothing better on the horizon in the airline world they will probably stick a toe in the quasi-airline that is NJE and displace your cadet scheme fairly quickly. It will be another downturn victim for wannabees.
Edited to say NJE are heavily advertising for crew right now 1/2 page ads in flight at the time when pilots are coming onto the job market - no coincidence