To answer your third question - absolutely not. The various sponsored and mentored schemes are just one of several routes into Flybe. When the job market was active we needed around 10 new FOs per month, which came from a mixture of cadets, 250hr fATPLs and more experienced pilots (1000hr ex instructors or TP guys). That gave the company a broad mix of backgrounds, ages and experience levels, which is entirely sensible.
Expect a similar balance once the job market picks up again.