All this cadet program for locals is a joke. It was set up just before 1997 as a means of showing the Chinese government that Cx wasn’t just a British owned company milking Hong Kong for all it was worth. They took the Union Jacks off the planes, sent a few guys to Adelaide and voi-la, a company with Hong Kong’s best interests at heart.
When the program started they were taking on around 10 cadets a year. Now they’re looking at over 100. There is more opportunity for locals to get on the program now, not just because recruiting goes on all year round but there are more places available. If HK locals can meet the standard they will get in.
However, if the cadet program becomes the only route for second officers to join the company, in enough time, without direct entry or icadets, nearly every pilot for Cx will be a HK local. I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with that on the surface but consider this; With Mandarin being taught so widely in schools now there is less time to focus on English as a second language in the HK classroom. Will Cx be able to find 100 linguistically capable candidates with the right attributes every year indefinitely? Also, having a body of pilots who have all gone through the same or similar education channels will decrease the diversification in the cockpit. Aviation is a dynamic occupation and having a diverse selection of pilots from around the world makes our aircraft safer. Over specialise and breed in weakness.