Finally some advice that makes sense and is not out just to bag any company just for the hell of it. Well done nuttyrotor.
The facts are easy enough to find out by visiting people and asking some hard questions, talking to current and past students (the training provider should be able to pass on contact details to you) and finding out what kind of rate of employment past students have. Training providers who have a good track record will have this kind of information. If they cannot provide it, then they probably do not have a good track record.
I would also ask, how many helicopters they currently have, and how many students. How many instructors, how long they have been employed there and what quantity and type of hours they have (I would be looking for a mix of commercial and training experience across a number of instructors). Again, a good training provider will have no issue in sharing this information with you. If they don't share it, then steer clear of them.
As far as the money side of things go, as mentioned before, don't pay up front unless the company uses a trust account that is legitimate. Ask the Heliflite students about this!!
These questions could also be asked over the phone or by email for those from overseas (obviously not quite as easy to gauge the mood and feel for the place this way), but ask to talk to the manager/owner or chief flying instructor and you should get factual truthful answers to your questions.
The last advice I would give you is not to take much notice of comments on an anonymous web site like this that rubbish some training providers unless they are backed up and substantiated using verifiable facts. The helicopter industry in NZ is very small and unfortunately some people throw this uninformed information about for no other reasons than to put people off going with the competition.
Also, some people have history with certain companies based on events of many years ago and have big ass chips on their shoulders because of it. Ask Hef why he would avoid Helipro like the plague? Maybe he would like to share some information to back that up? maybe not, we'll see.