Pullharder, At the time, many ex-military pilots had the required experience to get the jobs, most civvy trained pilots apparently didn't. That's just market forces in action.
After I and another ex-military pilot left, the new contractor had great difficulty finding another pilot with the required experience and in six months used a whole series of "floater" pilots, more than twelve, according to my ex-colleagues. The unit we were with mandated double the CAA minimum hours. Some of these pilots were not invited back. They later lowered the crossbar with regard to hours flown and now use some wholly civilian trained and experienced pilots.