Pug - As long as there are enough applicants that pass all stages and take the offer of training with NATS the current system will not change.
I have taken a cut in my salary a couple of times for career moves in the past. One thing is for sure though, if you are pre-occupied with your financial problems during the course it will a lot a harder than it could be.
Unions - i do see your point to a certain extent. In my experience they are either too weak or too strong if know what i mean. You have got to get your head around this
one way or another. Good luck.