what a load of nonsense!
why would this be nonsense? hong kong cannot be compared to singapore and taiwan in terms of aviation culture. if you think about it, it has only been in the recent 4-5 years that local youngsters have begun to consider the possibility of becoming an airline pilot. that's why i said that there are a lot less people in hong kong who are interested in such a career. this is all in contrast to singapore and taiwan, where there has always been a number of chances for youngsters to explore aviation and give them an aspiration towards an airline career.
i am sure that if possible, the cathay recruitment people would love to reserve the right for cadet application to those who hold the little white plastic card we call the HKID. however with the direction the company is going, this is no longer feasible. the cadetship is being open to applicants around the world because there is a shortage of locals in HKG who satisfy BOTH the following criteria:
1. they want to become a cadet pilot
2. they have the ability to become a cadet pilot
i am pretty sure that there are lots of people in HKG who have the ability to learn to fly an aircraft at a decent rate. i am also sure there are loads of people interested in becoming a pilot in hong kong. but how many people fulfill both criteria? can cathay really rely on a purely local source for cadet pilots, if they are planning to shift the balance of future aircrew ranks from the currently direct entry-dominated scenario to an ex-cadet dominated scenario?
try to look at the big picture and think about how the airline can save resources. as i mentioned earlier, profit maximization is very important and determines which airlines can live and which do not. only a significant amount of money in your pocket can allow you to do other things: expansion, fleet renewal, employ more locals, be HKG's flagship, take responsibility to youngsters, so on and so forth. for example, if cathay can save all that money that would have been paid to expat pilots, and puts it all into nurturing more cadets, do you think this would ultimately be beneficial for all the young wannabes in HKG that we constantly speak of?