Skyhighflyer, no problem with you quoting me. I think it's still relevant.
Lessthanste, it doesn't matter what newspaper it was in. It clearly isn't going to happen soon. Why would any airline spend money training ab-initio when they have the pick of direct entry pilots both employed and unemployed?
Reheat, I think you've got the wrong end of the stick here:
They don't like piecemeal training, lack of continuity, and any possibility that retraining will be required in the sim / on the line. Hence, high preference for integrated people who have planned a continuous training course at one location, where their records are available, with a known quality product. Hence, why they don't like people who are starry eyed, train at each stage as and when they can afford it, and bet the ranch on the less safe option (in their eyes).
Now is that your opinion or one you attribute to BA or both? Your emphasis on the word
planned is interesting. Of course it implies that only integrated pilots
plan their training. My friend, now flying with an airline
planned his training by going to a flight school and staying there until he qualified. It was full time, his records are available, and the main reason he didn't go to an expensive integrated school was because he didn't have the money. But because it's officially a modular course he is to be classified as a starry eyed risk taker (in their eyes).
As far as I'm concerned the only difference between self sponsored integrated people and self sponsored modular is the amount of money they can raise for training. The implication that all or most modular trained pilots are poorly trained is insulting and wrong.
If BA has a problem with the quality of cadet pilots, then it's self inflicted. They have a preference for integrated often from 'certain' schools. Rightly or wrongly that's their decision. But there is a smaller pool of integrated people. At the moment all of them are self selected and have access to the money to pay for it and the time to spend at a residential school.
That's all that differentiates them from modular people who are self selected too but have less money and may or may not be able to spend a year and a half away from home.
I'm not surprised they can't find suitable people in integrated courses to fit in with their 'culture'. It's a smaller pool and given that the only basis for selection is their desire to be a pilot and having the money to pay for it, there's bound to be a disproportionate number who simply wouldn't fit in with BA's view of their ideal pilot.
None of that means they will sponsor pilots soon. Far more likely the mentored method as per CTC and others. I very much doubt the fully paid for sponsorship will come back for major airlines. Times have changed.