you will not get a true representation from ANY fto. To do this would just be ludicrous from a business point of view.
Actually, and while not disagreeing with the sentiment of your post, I thought I should let you know I believe the above is not factually correct based on my experience.
While I was doing my CPL training at a certain British FTO, I did hear their people advise a potential customer on one occasion (or rather, his parents) on the phone that the chances of finding a job as a commercial pilot were minimal, while on another occasion they recommended another candidate to attend
another (non-associated) school based on geographical proximity and quality of training. I believe it was actually school policy to give this sort of, shall we say, candid advise.
I will not name the school concerned either in public or privately, so nobody thinks I have an axe to grind. This is just to question the one specific assertion I have quoted in my reply, based on my experience, while still agreeing in general terms with the rest of the post.
deranged_scotsman:
You can't even get the numbers from the CAA on how many individuals [....]
That's interesting. Is that based on you or someone you know of trying to get that info from the CAA?