Heres your justification...
coolguy,
My post is directly in response to your post. Firstly let me start by saying that your comments and choice of words in your post shock me and honestly I feel ashamed to admit your Sri Lankan identity. I do however sympathize with your comments about the lack of opportunities for local SL cadets to gain employment with the national airline.
However what I do have a problem with is your attitude and generalization of SL expats and overall naivety to the situation. I for one am a Sri Lankan born and brought up in a foreign land.
Any Sri Lankan who desires to be a pilot and fly for the national airline who has lived there whole life in Sri Lankan should know that gaining employment with UL is going to be extremely difficult. The main factor being the size of the airline, its just not big enough for the movement to allow large volumes of local employment. Take a look at SQ cadet scheme they have a large fleet which is perfect for the sustainable local cadet scheme, which gives hope to the locals wanting to be pilots.
The fact that UL accept Sri Lankan expats into there cadet scheme is also done by many airlines around the world. This is not a new thing!
It seems to me that your post is some what sour grapes if you know the saying. The way you generalize Sri Lankans who have lived in other countries is totally uncalled for and certainly from your post you seem to look down at them! Let me tell you something, there are many Sri Lankans like myself who are proud of where we come from despite the fact that we were not born in Sri Lanka. We are no less Sri Lankan than you so stop looking down on us as if we are of less caliber. In no way do you have the right to judge me or them on this fact. Many of us expats can, and speaking personally can speak Sinhalese and do visit Sri Lanka on a yearly basis, we love the music the culture the food and do our best to live our lives in accordance to our religious beliefs. Don't forget we have Sri Lankan blood in our veins and just because our parents choose to live abroad does not void the fact we are Sri Lankan.
Its the same story with Sri Lankan people across the globe blame others because its never there own fault. Just take a look at the countless forum threads on pprune regarding UL, its full of people just bad mouthing individuals and never any positive feedback/criticism. Thats the root cause to our countries problems its all down to the people at the end of the day!
When I finished flight school and I was looking for a job many people asked me why don't you join UL and for many SL expats it would always be a dream to fly for our national carrier but its just not that simple. We all need a reality check here having lived my whole life in a foreign country and trained there why waste the opportunity to work there and seek employment. After all many people would love to train were I did and certainly folks back home would not get this opportunity so why waste it. So understandable the first choice would be to seek employment in the country of residence. I would be mad not too!
I personally felt that more than anything I would not be able to take the countless red tape and politics that goes on in Sri Lanka and UL to seek employment there. Its a shame to say but the truth hurts and I want to enjoy my job and lifestyle without the rubbish associated to the countless politics and corruption involed in SL society. This is my choice and mine alone, as for other Sri Lankans well if they want to join UL why should the fact that there parents decided to live somewhere else exclude them this right, don't forget they are Sri Lankan after all, by right of there Sri Lankan parents!
My options to try UL were 'last resort' ie if I did not find work here after 1 or 2 years then maybe (a big maybe) try UL. The airline industry is a tough place to be when your right at the bottom of the ladder with a fresh CPL/IR trying to find an airline job. I was lucky and managed to find an airline job but some of my class mates are either in holding pools after 2 years and a few without flying job at all.
My point is that we have to look at all our options and that means opportunities far afield in other countries. We certainly know this industry is about who you know more than what you know and believe you me its not just Sri Lanka were this happens. Even here the national airline, many of my friends have got jobs with them because their dad was a Captain etc etc. I don't hold this against them at all, this is what the industry is like and I knew this well before I got into it.
So wake up and stop complaining and putting expat Sri Lankans down, if you were in there situation what would YOU do??
Its hard being the local guys and not getting picked but it happens in other professions too but perhaps a lesser extent e.g Medicine. If you set out to be a pilot and have been living in Sri Lankan surly this cant be much of a surprise. Your opportunities were always limited just by the fact that there are not many jobs to start with. I understand that it seems that expats are 'nicking' (your words not mine) these jobs away from locals but this is totally incorrect they have just as much right as you. Its the world and industry we live in so you need to accept it.
If your a cadet then you really need to start growing up and being less naive about the industry your getting into as well as doing more research on the way things work in terms of airline employment in Sri Lankan. If on the other hand your already a pilot speaking in general terms then I would seriously be worried about your attitude and hope its just limited to you alone!
Good day to you.