Mark, Celtic Pilot is pretty much on the nail with the industry being cyclical. Yes its awful at the moment, yes it will come back around to the good times again. When?????? God knows! Not a for a good few years I fear.
If I were you, I would do a PPL at a fairly leisurely pace, have a bit of fun doing some GA flying for a while, then maybe a year ot two later, start thinking about the ATPLs, dpending on how the economy is shaping up.
I think if anyone is contemplating flying training at the mo, well, I wouldnt commit to anything too heavy, PPL yes, any further, for now, no. And if it was me, I would definitely be looking at the modular route, not integrated, given these uncertain times. I did it modular, groundschool with BGS (very good by the way), CPL/IR at Stapleford, now flying for an airline out of Manch. So dont worry about the modular/integrated usual load of old bo11ocks. (just mentioned in order to avoid the usual bunfight).
After your CPL/IR, well then you're in the lap of the Gods Im afraid mate. None of us can predict what the market will be like for any type of pilot, experienced or newbees. Safe to say though that you should have a plan B always. Either be prepared to take any kind of flying work anywhere, do an FI rating, back to IT, just something to keep paying the bills.
Good luck with it all, but for now, get your PPL and enjoy it while we ride out this economic climate.
Cheers.