So let me get this straight...
For example...
- You are Aussie GA guy with reasonable hours/experience (say a couple of thousand and an ATPL/CPL - basically what they were taking as SO's a couple of years ago)
- The only job CX are offering you right now is SO under the new 'Advanced Cadet Entry'
- They send you to Adelaide for the one month 'Advance Cadet Course' and technically LOAN you the money ($550,000) for the training.
- If you decide HK or CX sucks and decide to leave for greener pastures before your 6 year bond is up they expect you to pay the $550,000 training loan back?
Thats AWESOME! Where do I sign up? So at $33,000/mth, that $550,000 = 16 months salary - so if you decide to leave CX before 16 months is up you will effectively be paying CX for the privilege of working for them and leave with less money than what you came with 16 months earlier!
Is this true?
You had better be sure you and your family love Cathay/Hong Kong/being an SO before you come - because if this is true you are trapped here for minimum 6 years!
This is by far the most devious tactic yet by Cathay. Yet in the Notice that management published, they've made it look good with all kinds of window dressing around it such as the whopping $10,000 housing allowance (which gets you something approximates a small public toilet in HK).
If this is true then this is appalling... the word needs to get out on this to make sure the young fellas aren't deceived like CX is always trying to do to everyone else.
(You will note that I haven't talked about the $550,000 you get to keep, because we are talking about bonding here... so if you leave inside 6yrs you will actually be paying $1.1mil even though you only put $550,000 in your pocket! ie. you still end up $550,000 worse off!)