The hours flown on night freight is quite low, may be 250-300 hours a year, so the 1000 hour requirement is such that any direct entry FO can achieve a full ATPL within two years of service hence be eligible to take a command.
The cadet scheme I suspect creates a surplus of low hour first officers within the company, alot of the older posters may forget that Atlantic Airlines is now an independent company seperate from Air Atlantique. In the Air Atlantique days, I believe that the cadets were able to build significant hours by working for the Highlands Flying Club and the maritime survey section (now RVL) before moving to the night freight arm. However as Atlantic Airlines (now West Atlantic) is separate from these other entities there is now no longer a way for the low hour cadets to build significant hours.
It is good that the company retains a cadet scheme; but also be aware that a very small number of cadets in the past have served the fugly period and been informed that they will not be progressed to the flight training stage.